Now that we know all the horrible details of a school out of control, now is the time to discuss what should be done.
I have said that I would not be in favor of another school receive an SMU-Type death penalty again because it really does destroy a program…......I will have to amend that. What happened at Penn State was so egregious that I am now in the belief that they need to cease football for a few years. That is hell on the fans, but this is not a typical situation and it needs a non-typical solution.
Not sure about statute of limitations here, but since they knew about this in ‘98 when Sandusky was still coaching, I think that’s grounds for Lack of Institutional Control and an NCAA punishment. I don’t think the death penalty serves any purpose, but a USC-type punishment is appropriate in my mind. If the Big Ten wants to withhold their share of TV money for a few years, I think that’s reasonable as well.
Not sure about statute of limitations here, but since they knew about this in ‘98 when Sandusky was still coaching, I think that’s grounds for Lack of Institutional Control and an NCAA punishment. I don’t think the death penalty serves any purpose, but a USC-type punishment is appropriate in my mind. If the Big Ten wants to withhold their share of TV money for a few years, I think that’s reasonable as well.
Matt, I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you. This isn’t a typical situation where a laundry list of players were getting a few Benjamins stuffed in their gym bags…..This is a a case where a pedophile was given free reign to commit unspeakable acts on the most innocent of our society. The school, as it turns out not only covered it up for the last 13 years, but did nothing to stop it to the point of complicity…........Those children who were violated need to know that not only Sandusky, but Penn State too should be held accountable at the highest possible level. My reasoning is justice to the victims.
There is no doubt that a death penalty would truly be a fatal blow to PSU for a long time and it is a sad situation…..But we as a society cannot let this off the hook just because we want to watch some football.
I think the settlement with the victims and the court cost along with the public embarrassment should be enough for PSU.
On top of that, because we now know the extent JoePa was involved. I think his name should be removed from any post season award and he should be perma banned from the NCAA hall of fame.
This issue goes beyond football. JoePa’s dead and the scum administrators will be held accountable in a court of law. I really dislike the idea of punishing the current players, who were in grade school when this went down, as well as the current staff, support personnel, etc that would be affected by the death penalty. As CUT4L noted, it’s also hell on the fans. But also think about the people who work the stadium on gamedays or the hotels and restaurants of State College.
What should happen is to punish the university by forfeiting TV dollars (maybe a TV ban which would be a de facto bowl ban), bowl revenue, and basically put a financial hit on the institution. I also think the NCAA should release all players from their scholarship committment should they choose and be allowed to tranfer and play immediately at another school. If you take away scholarships, it hurts the football program, but it also denies a bunch of kids the opportunity to get a great free education. All of this will hurt the football product and by extension the university without hurting the kids.
Innocent people will suffer from this, but that’s always the case. They covered up crimes of the worst kind to avoid bad publicity for the program and showed a complete disregard for kids in their own community. They put the team’s image over the safety of kids for more than a decade. Even worse, they allowed the program itself to serve as the “candy bar” offered to lure kids. This is by far the worst, but not the only, example of PSU trying to keep things quiet - all while trying to protect a facade. I think they need to be punished harshly. This is a human atrocity versus slipping someone some cash or calling them when they rules say they shouldn’t.
I cast “Nothing” as long as they clean hose. Take a deep breath everyone. What happened at Penn State has ZERO to do with the actual football program. Nadda, Zip,Zilch. The Head Coach, a retired DC and the administration were the INDIVUALS that had knowledge about a non-football related incident involving a retired coach and a private children’s program. Penn State football was not involved in this fiasco and you need to separate that.
If you hammer football then you would have to hammer all Penn State athletics because they all had as much to do with this as football which is nothing.
Civil fines and penalties have occurred and I imagine more fines will occur. What is import is that all people associated with this atrocity be removed from the school and punished to the full extent of the law.
Now if an actual on staff coach were involved and this cover up occurred,then that would be a totally different issue. This is simply not the case. If the actual football program had anything to do with this then I would be all for taking down the program for a few years. This just is not the case people.
Sandusky wasn’t retired in 1998. That’s why I think this is an NCAA issue now. They clearly had the interest of the football program at heart when carrying out this cover-up, so I think it is a football issue.
If you’re trying to compare it to USC and OSU and give a punishment relative to the severity of the crime, well then you would have to ban all athletics permanently. Obviously that won’t happen. Hit them hard financially, but don’t give them the death penalty. As said above, the well-being of so many innocent people is reliant on revenue from football weekends. They don’t need to prove a point here like they did for SMU.
I cast “Nothing” as long as they clean hose. Take a deep breath everyone. What happened at Penn State has ZERO to do with the actual football program. Nadda, Zip,Zilch. The Head Coach, a retired DC and the administration were the INDIVUALS that had knowledge about a non-football related incident involving a retired coach and a private children’s program. Penn State football was not involved in this fiasco and you need to separate that.
If you hammer football then you would have to hammer all Penn State athletics because they all had as much to do with this as football which is nothing.
Civil fines and penalties have occurred and I imagine more fines will occur. What is import is that all people associated with this atrocity be removed from the school and punished to the full extent of the law.
Now if an actual on staff coach were involved and this cover up occurred,then that would be a totally different issue. This is simply not the case. If the actual football program had anything to do with this then I would be all for taking down the program for a few years. This just is not the case people.
To me, the fact that it was the administration is worse. Programs are punished for what a booster does with less ties to the program than the administration. If the program should have known about it then they get hit harder for lack of institutional control. In this case, the cover-up was the head coach and the institution. They were protecting the program for the benefit of publicity, recruiting etc. because if those things turned against them it would damage the product on the field and bring shame. Their goal was ultimately the same as someone trying to offer money to a recruit - the competitiveness of the team and the publicity - only in this case there were genuine victims.
While a significant part of me as a father and a human being wants to join right in with the lynch mob gathering against anything Penn State related, I also have a part of me that is hesitant to see the NCAA get involved in a criminal matter, even in a case as heinous as this one.
The NCAA has proven time and time again that there is no rhyme nor reason for how they enforce the rules that they already are supposed to be enforcing….some schools with violations get hammered, others with similar violations get a light slap on the wrist. I would hate for the precedent of the NCAA getting involved in criminal matters that are not directly connected to violations of NCAA bylaws to be established because it would lead to more selective enforcement by a corrupt organization. Once you let the camel get his nose under the tent you will never keep him out, and the NCAA would quickly expand the role beyond cases as serious as this.
Congress has touched this issue, and has placed the annual total number of abducted children at more than 1.5 million, adding that “we don’t have a clue what happens to over 50,000 of them,” and that “this country is littered with mutilated, decapitated, raped and strangled children.”
International organ traffickers are also entering the picture and yes many have been caught right here in America, google it. This is an issue that far exceeds the boundaries of what happened at PSU, it is international and goes right to the door of the international elite, from Dutroux in Belgian, Bohemian Grove, Johnny Gosch, Jon Benet Ramsey, satanic sacrifice on the isle off Jersey off France, McMartin pre-school, all the way up to Lt. colonel Aquino and the church of satan. Google it.
Anyone read this book? It apparently got a former CIA director murdered.
Same thing in New Zealand who author Greg “the spymaster” Hallett calls a pedophile front operating as a country. Greg since writing New Zealand A Black Mailer’s Guide, has had his house burned down and several attempts on his life.
His site has a sample chapter section to read parts of the books, amazing stuff.
“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of moral
outrage retain their neutrality.” (Dantes, Inferno) Or, to put it more
clearly: You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.
To say that PSU Football was not part of the situation is simply not accurate. Penn State Football was the draw to these boys. Sandosky used his title and connections as a retired Penn State Football coach and his connections to the Football program be a marketing too to attract these kids. I am sure that over the years these kids got to meet active coaches and players and the University, Jo Pa facilitated this so Penn State Football was part of this. The brand of Penn State Football was to Lure to these boys…...And because of that, it needs to be shut down for a year or two.
While a significant part of me as a father and a human being wants to join right in with the lynch mob gathering against anything Penn State related, I also have a part of me that is hesitant to see the NCAA get involved in a criminal matter, even in a case as heinous as this one.
The NCAA has proven time and time again that there is no rhyme nor reason for how they enforce the rules that they already are supposed to be enforcing….some schools with violations get hammered, others with similar violations get a light slap on the wrist. I would hate for the precedent of the NCAA getting involved in criminal matters that are not directly connected to violations of NCAA bylaws to be established because it would lead to more selective enforcement by a corrupt organization. Once you let the camel get his nose under the tent you will never keep him out, and the NCAA would quickly expand the role beyond cases as serious as this.
You have a point about the randomness of the NCAA. It is a very strange situation, but it is so bad that I’m not sure they can just ignore it. I also don’t think they can treat the same as a kid getting benefits in recruiting. As far as the by-laws go, there is something included which is relevant. I don’t know if this part is something they can enforce or is more of an aspiration, but it was clearly violated in this case.
19.01.2 Exemplary Conduct. Individuals employed by or associated with member institutions for the administration, the conduct or the coaching of intercollegiate athletics are, in the final analysis, teachers of young people. Their responsibility is an affirmative one, and they must do more than avoid improper conduct or questionable acts. Their own moral values must be so certain and positive that those younger and more pliable will be influenced by a fine example. Much more is expected of them than of the less critically placed citizen.
They wouldn’t have to ignore it, just admit that it is not within their purview. Just like the Baylor basketball case where Patrick Dennehy was murdered. The NCAA didn’t concern itself with the criminal aspects of the case, instead dealt with the peripheral issues. Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants the NCAA to set the precedent of getting involved in legal matters they have typically avoided in the past. Today it’s this stuff at Penn State, next week they are coming after your program for a couple DUI’s, etc.
