VonMessa,
I have only advocated a severe punishment against the athletic program and have stayed out of the civil side. It is obvious that no amount of anything will make the victim's whole again, and I never said anything would.
What disappoints me about this punishment is that it is touted as so harsh, but when looked at in detail it really isn't.
$60 million amounts to one year of revenues, roughly. 1 year fixes that.
No post season for 4 years... boohoo, they lose another 10 million or so IF they make a bowl game, not likely with 20 less scholarships.
Vacating Wins. Wow, that hurts..... what a joke.
Independent morality monitor? Oh wow.
5 years probation with NCAA.
Wow, those are some rough punishments.... hardly. It is my opinion that the NCAA took the road of preserving the football program and a cash cow for State College instead of sending the proper message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. The sports culture message received is that if this happens in the future, you will get a monetary fine, and no post season for a short time, but the cash cow stays in place. Before you say another thing about this only involving a few people, read the Freeh report and realize that they interviewed close to 400 people for that. Obviously not all are involved, but plenty more than 4 knew something happened and still did not do anything about it.
I will agree that they could have been harsher, no doubt. I will have to disagree that a "death penalty" was in order as it would not have hurt or punished the institution of PSU as much as it would have impacted the community of State College, PA.
I equate it to a seashore town where the beaches would need to be closed for one reason or another during peak season. The lions share of revenue is made during the peak season by the local businesses. The seven home games during football season account for the bulk of yearly revenue for a plethora of local businesses. Putting a halt to the entire football program would undoubtedly have a very negative financial impact upon the financial health of the community wherein some businesses would fall flat on their face and those employed by those companies would all suddenly find themselves unemployed. Considering the quite rural location of State college and the lack of places to secure gainful employment within reasonable commuting distance, it would only cause more innocent folks to suffer as not everyone in the community has ties to PSU beyond servicing the student body, tourists and football fans. The effect on PSU as an entity, however, would not be nearly as devastating as they have more than one campus across the state. In essence, lots of folks that had absolutely no involvement in, or knowledge of this scandal, would be forced to suffer the consequences of it. Businesses would close, folks will be unemployed, mortgages/utilities would go unpaid and houses foreclosed upon while PSU would continue to endure as they still are an excellent university. The "lesson" being taught to PSU, in relation to the impact on the community, would be wildly unbalanced. It would be like dropping a bomb on the town, yet the college building surviving it virtually unscathed while everything else is burning to the ground. I understand that many would say "It wouldn't be that bad" but, if you look in the classifieds for the community, 90% of the job listings are hospitality oriented. Waitresses, Janitors, Hotel staff, cooks, etc.
A little perspective for the punishment is inorder.
PSU has an endowment of over $1.7 billion USD. They can easily absorb the $60 million fine.
Agreed on the $60 million, especially since it is to be paid over a five-year period. That is about one season's worth of revenue
PSU Football was allocated 85 scholarships per year until today which goes down to 65 for 4 years.
I have not figured out how this really affects the school too badly or what kind of message it is supposed to convey. To me it means that for 4 years 20 more kids that have more physical prowess that funds for education will miss out on attending a really good university through no fault of their own
You can not take away wins. The games already happened and people have moved on.
Your logic of that statement notwithstanding, this may have more significance than you would think, at first. It does not have so much to do with affecting the football program itself, or the memory of the wins by the players/fans. What it DOES do, however, is it has summarily, unequivocally and eternally, stripped the title of "College football's most victorious Head Coach" from Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno.
Although not a huge college football or Penn State fan myself, I know that this is HUGE in the college football world and, in my eyes, makes the biggest statement of all the sanctions. No more JoePa legacy. His name will be erased from history. He will no longer be remembered or revered in the annals of college football, but instead his legacy will be forever overshadowed by the revolting acts he helped to cover up. Since he is not here to punish, I think that this is highly appropriate punishment. It effectively says "You no longer matter". That honor now belongs to Bobby Bowden of FSU
No bowl games for 4 years means they lose out on roughly $40 million.
A paltry sum, I agree
A independent morality monitor for 5 years. Play by the rules, no problems.
Again, a joke. Playing by the rules should be standard practice and not need monitoring
5 years probation in the NCAA. Wow, play by the rules and you are fine.
That is almost a matter of rote, like an afterthought.
This NCAA punishment is a joke.
Most of it, yes.
Sadly, I don't know enough about the politics of college football to know how to have handled this differently if it was my decision. What I do know, however, is that I wouldn't want my doctor to amputate my hand in the effort to get rid of the warts on it.
Sandusky will pay and not just with the loss of his freedom. You can have my word of experience on this. I have volunteered for years at a local prison (Graterford) and have seen the "accidents" that befall child predators in the penal system. They are some of the clumsiest folks around. They fall down flights of concrete stairs or trip stepping out of the prison bus when being transported before the guards can prevent their fall. In addition, they can't put their hands out to stop themselves as they are usually fully shackled, hand and foot. They also fall a lot in the shower and are are very careless when sitting down. I have heard some accounts some of where the child molesters have not looked at the chair before sitting down and sat directly on a broomstick, effectively shoving the broomstick (or in some cases, a mop handle) in places where a broomstick should not be... Clumsy folks indeed, these child molesters.
As for the rest of the people involved? What they did is as revolting as Sandusky's actions and they are as culpable as he is. They are the folks that I am most eager to see punished. I would not be offended or repulsed by some good old fashioned public hangings. The reputation of a sports program should never trump the safety and welfare of children.
If something like this were to ever happen to either of my children, I couldn't tell you how I would react, but I'm sure that there would be a shovel or pig farmer's involved.
I am all for justice and punishment. For me, bringing the hammer down on an entire community and accepting the misfortunes of those with no involvement whatsoever and chalking it up to collateral damage is not acceptable to me.
Unfortunately, the NCAA is not responsible for the punishment of the individual folks that entirely deserve it. A complete audit and revamp of the leadership, staff, policies and practices of the PSU football program is absolutely warranted and reasonable.
