NCAA Drops Hammer
The dilemma of the Joe Paterno statue reached its conclusion Sunday morning just after dawn. The statue was no longer an honorable representation of a great coach; it would serve as a constant reminder of an elaborate, more-than-decade-old cover up of child sexual assault. Common sense persevered, thankfully. It was deconstructed, and we are left with the iconic image of the now infamous Joe Paterno being carried away. Penn State officials got this one right. Next up: the NCAA.
Much discussion has existed about the possibility of the NCAA levying penalties on the Penn State football program in the aftermath of the Sandusky case. Some argue the only way to handle this disaster is to let the proper legal authorities have their way with the university and the scandal’s key members, and that the NCAA should not meddle in such non-sports related issues. And why punish so many people for the crimes of only a few, especially when said crimes occurred away from football?
Until recently, I was on the fence on the issue. I considered all the innocent bystanders, and there will be many, that would be penalized from actions that occurred years ago, and actions they had zero knowledge of. I understood the effects of the possible sanctions and how long they could potentially bring down the university’s athletic department. I also wondered if the NCAA would be overstepping its authority. After all, what did all this have to do with the product on the field? It’s the National Collegiate Athletic Association. This wasn’t an athletic issue. It’s not like any of this gave the Nittany Lions an unfair on-field advantage. It had nothing to do with football.
Then I realized how wrong I was, how moronic that sounded. This is not just a legal issue. It’s about the university administration, the dictatorial culture of the program, and it is most definitely about football. All about football, actually. Why? The main catalyst for hiding years and years of child rape was to protect the squeaky clean facade of the football program, the football program Joe Paterno worked tirelessly to protect and uphold. And he was more than capable of single-handedly dictating the process following the first account in 1998. He had ultimate sovereignty in State College, Pennsylvania. He exercised it, too, all in the name of the football program. The entire coverup was football motivated. Every time, since he gained knowledge of Sandusky’s actions, Paterno sat down in living rooms of recruits to pitch the Penn State football program, he lied to them, and he lied to their parents. Paterno would often send letters to recruits claiming PSU as “the cleanest program in the country.” It was about his image, the program’s image, football revenue, and wins. The victims were not only an afterthought, but seemingly not even entered into the decision-making equation.
The NCAA reached their ruling, and they delivered the news Monday morning. In my opinion, their sanctions are justified.
Penalties levied by the NCAA:
It’s not the death penalty that many were speculating, but Penn State football had all their limbs lopped off. These sanctions could potentially set the Penn State football program back a decade or more. Revenue, recruiting, coaching, fan support, perception – everything will be greatly affected.
To the Penn State fans, students, alumni, and current football players, you got a raw deal. You’re upset, and rightfully so. You don’t deserve this, and you have my sympathy. Just remember something, though – the NCAA is not to blame here. Your university’s administration, and more directly, the man pictured above who is being so aptly cloaked and carried off to pasture is. He pulled the cloak over your eyes for over a decade, and many child sexual assault victims were the result – all because of college football.
Follow me on Twitter @RogerDornTFM
Living in PA, I hear a lot of bull shit about how one mistake should ruin a entire career of excellence. I always enjoy someone who can step back and look at the situation from a moral standpoint rather than a football standpoint. Well done Dorn.
12 years ago at 9:43 am^should not ruin
12 years ago at 9:56 amThat was deep, dorn. Cut me right to the core.
12 years ago at 9:51 amAs a student at the only school to ever receive the infamous NCAA football death penalty, all I can say is “hah hah”
12 years ago at 9:52 am^*should not ruin
12 years ago at 9:56 amThe biggest issue I have with this whole situation is everyone’s self-righteousness. We are all so quick to point the finger of blame and lay down punishment instead of finding ways to actually turn some good out of it. (A few hundred thousand dollars to the victims doesn’t solve any issues because the abuse STILL HAPPENED, it’s more a bribe in order that we can again stop caring about it). There is child abuse and rape every single day in our country, but instead of increasing individual awareness and possibly heaping culpability on ourselves to rid this country of this awful issue, we distract ourselves by appointing “evil” figureheads. We allow ourselves to say, “I’m not JoePa, so I’m not a bad person.” Yet we ignore the fact that we might be able to do something about child abuse (or any crime, for that matter. Tell me you’ve never witnessed underage drinking that may have lead to assault, or others driving while under the influence that may have lead to a deadly crash. We punish these people because these acts are wrong, but also to remove guilt in something we could have prevented) in our own towns and neighborhoods.
12 years ago at 9:56 amnow tell us how you really feel
12 years ago at 10:17 am^ “The kids were asking for it. I mean, who wears those kinds of skivvies in the locker room for any creepy old man to see?”
12 years ago at 10:18 amthis ^
12 years ago at 10:34 amWhat are you talking about? What do you think that $60million dollar fine is being used for? And of course we are appointing evil figureheads, this whole situation shows that molestation can be enabled by anyone, and that the proper solution is to go right to the police if you find out a co-worker or friend is fucking children. This is just a bullshit criticism with no substance or basis. In fact, this whole situation actually points the finger right at the people who didn’t think child rape was a big deal and covered it up, and now the people who defend Joe Pa by saying covering it up, as long as he is your friend or a close co-worker or the consequences would be bad, is *never* acceptable. Even hardened death row inmates know that fucking kids is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated, why do you think Sandusky is separated from the prison population?
12 years ago at 3:24 pmHonestly the part that’s going to hurt them the worst is that their players can transfer anywhere without penalty. With all the penalties, any player worth his salt will transfer to a top-tier college, so they’ll lose everyone good. They may as well have gotten the death penalty.
12 years ago at 10:20 amCongrats Penn State. You are now a MAC school
12 years ago at 11:09 am#teamjoepa
12 years ago at 11:24 am#TeamSandusky
12 years ago at 3:25 pm^ this hahaha
12 years ago at 4:15 pmThey had an unfair on-field advantage. Covering Sandusky’s scandal up kept the image of Penn St. and Joe Pa pristine. Had they not covered that up, they would have had all of this bad press years ago and lost recruits.
12 years ago at 11:53 amDid you stop reading halfway through?
12 years ago at 2:38 pmBOBBY BOWDEN IS NUMBER ONE!!!! F Penn State. FSU runs college football. So anybody that wants to step up to this ish better recognize. Bowden>Paterno
12 years ago at 12:06 pmFSU runs football like an intern runs a company.
12 years ago at 12:25 pmPike is the largest fraternity at your school. Any opinion you could have is automatically invalid.
12 years ago at 2:00 pmPike is the largest fraternity at lots of schools, dumbass, because they bid anything that breathes
12 years ago at 3:02 pm