There's a lot of consternation afoot regarding the seemingly "draconian" measures the NCAA has taken against Penn State. Lots of chest-beating and hand-wringing and tear-jerking and teeth-gnashing about how these sanctions are going to ruin the future of Penn State football and how unfair they are and that the team will lose and lose and lose and no one will show up and blah, blah, blah. But let's get to root of it all. This is what they're crying about:
• A $60 million fine, with the money going to an endowment to benefit the welfare of children.
• A four-year ban on post-season play, including the Big Ten championship game, bowls or the playoffs coming in 2014.
• A reduction in the maximum allowance of scholarships offered to incoming players from 25 to 15 a year for the next four years.
• Any entering or returning player is free to transfer without restriction (such as sitting out one season). Others can maintain their scholarship at Penn State and choose not to play.
• The vacating of all victories from 1998-2011, which strips Paterno of his title as the winningest coach in college football history.
Of course, no one is really crying about the multiple cases of child rape that went unreported for years or the fact that the entire situation could have been avoided had Paterno given some thought to the children being raped as if they were one of his own or the fact that winning was so important the administration turned a blind eye to the most salacious and horrific behavior imaginable. Nope, but sanctions? Horrible travesty some may say.
But let's deal with these seemingly egregious sanctions which are supposed to ruin Penn State football from now until, well, the apocalypse. If we exclude the fine, the potential player transfers and Paterno's records (the latter two issues, as I suggest, don't have major implications in relation to winning football games) we're left with a ban on postseason play, a reduction in scholarships and a loss of victories from 1998-2011. As horrible as that may appear to those Penn State alumni, let's take a look at a football program which has suffered for decades without any of those sanctions; namely, Indiana University.
During those same years of 1998-2011, Indiana compiled a record of 55-119 with one bowl game appearance in '07 due, in large part, to the tireless work of the late Terry Hoeppner. Since 1968 (that's right, over 4 decades), IU has appeared in a total of nine bowl games including the one in '07 having lost six of them and since 1996, they're on their sixth coach having fired the one coach, Bill Mallory, who took them to six of those bowl games during his tenure from 1983-1996. Go figure. In that same period of time, Penn State went 111-65 with 10 bowl appearances winning six. In its history, Penn State has won over 700 games while Indiana has lost around 500.
I bring all this up for a few reasons not the least of which is stating the bloody obvious that there are worse things in life than losing football games and not going to bowl games. In a way, this is really a testament to all those football players who have gone to a university like Indiana that has had a losing tradition for decades and yet they still practice and play as hard as any Nittany Lion often being overmatched and undermanned. So, you see, as a diehard Hoosier fan who, luckily, was a witness to its last Big Ten football championship, I don't feel much sympathy for Penn State as a football program. They, like Indiana, will endure and continue to play and compete in the Big Ten, Eleven or Twelve, whatever it may become. The difference may be that over time Penn State may regain its national prominence and establish itself as the football power it once was and regain the integrity that everyone thought it had in the first place. In the meantime, let's give a little love to Kevin Wilson and the Hoosiers.
From page 14; 1st paragraph entitled "Findings”: The most saddening finding by the Investigative Counsel is the total and consistent disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims".
In spite of those FACTUAL findings there are those who still wish to exonerate Paterno's culpability and some have gone as far as trying to lay all of the blame on one of the whistle blowers.
"Oh those poor football players” and "small businesses will be hurt by those sanctions"; on and on it goes with a disproportionate empathy for the later groups when compared to the children that were raped. "Their" sufferings were swept under the rug for many years in the name of a game.
While their suffering was swept under the rug no one was coming to their defense in the manner that the followers from Penn State’s Status Quo have; Case in point the Student Riots. Furthermore, lamenting about finances and suffering of small businesses while negating the overall harm this has been done by “The Status Quo” and "their loyal followers" exemplifies the moral decay in the name of a game. That being said “football” at all cost; now becomes a literal catch phrase; It's Football at all cost regardless of whose children are being raped.
Hold that thought;
Football is a game.
Football was used to finance Penn State’s operations.
Football was used to create heinous crimes against children.
“The Team” was controlled by the Status Quo who knew what was going on.
In sum, Penn State is a school of academia; they should conduct themselves accordingly on that premise alone. The game, the demagoguery and the iconoclastic mentality used to defend those who make contributions to the win column, has become a vulgar display in what is wrong with today's society.
Yet there are still those lamenting about "the poor football players", all of which by the way were allowed to transfer. And still further they throw other intangible arguments into the discussion to rationalize Penn State's criminal activity. By doing so, in unwitting fashion, they display how hard it would be for any victim or whistle blower to go up against Penn State's Football Machine at the height of its cover up.
To those who support Penn State, we need to first say "I am sorry," for the abuses against vulnerable children at the Penn State facilities. It was wrong and the cover-up that allowed these children to be abused cannot be ignored and cannot be defended. Our children are the future of humanity, and they are our shared responsibility. I urge the Penn State alumni, students, and supporters to urge the Penn State administration to make the changes necessary to demonstrate to the world that instead of being "Penn State proud," we are really "Penn State responsible."
I am more than sorry. But I will not grovel, either. We need to move forward and do our best to make sure this never happens again ANYWHERE.
However, the problem is that The Penn State Rioters and those who hawk t shirt slogans proclaiming the injustice towards their football program, overshadow those such as yourself. Furthermore, the ignorant who tout "Penn State's Football Pride" unwittingly demonstrate that the Status Quo who were complicit in the crimes of Sandusky had a powerful following.
That being said it will be up to Penn State Alumn such as yourself or PSU Child Rights to advocate what a graduate of Penn State is about or should be about. If Football is all that there is, to where they are so angry to hawk t shirts proclaiming the injustice to their Football Program, then they ARE part of the problem as well.
The game should have been just a game in the spirit of a greater ideal; a Yale versus Harvard football game, and an Army versus Navy football game was just that; a game. The two are great rivalries but the four entities mentioned; Yale; Harvard; Army, and the Navy, speak to a greater ideal and concept, "The Game", "Football", merely reflect the spirit and greater ideals on what those entities represent.
On that note I think your commentary reflects where Penn State can begin their road to recovery and back to the path of "Academia", "Human Decency", and the "Greater Ideals" of what a learning institution should be all about. Again, many thanks.
To those who support Penn State, we need to first say "I am sorry," for the abuses against vulnerable children at the Penn State facilities. It was wrong and the cover-up that allowed these children to be abused cannot be ignored and cannot be defended. Our children are the future of humanity, and they are our shared responsibility. Those who violate the law must face the consequences of their actions.
Those of us who graduated, attended, or support Penn State must make a statement with our lives to show what our character really is. I urge the Penn State alumni to focus on our shared social responsibility, not on our "pride." As we have seen too clearly, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Jeffrey Imm, Penn State Alumnus, Class of 1979; Founder, PSU Alumni and Students for Children's Rights and Dignity, PSUChildRights.com
The quote below
"the fact that the entire situation could have been avoided had Paterno given some thought to the children being raped as if they were one of his own or the fact that winning was so important the administration turned a blind eye to the most salacious and horrific behavior imaginable. "
Do you realize that the said coach (Sandusky) was retired and had no influence on the football team. As a result, "winning" makes absolutely no sense. If they had reported him then, how would it have changed anything? Would it have made psu suddenly start losing games? Defies logic
Secondly, Paterno may or may not have known about it - there is no evidence confirming either theory, Until i see proof, i dont think i'll fall for "paterno knew".
And what has Indiana gotta do with anything? this is again a stupid and pointless argument. You should maybe consider the impact this will have on athletes who are still in high school. A scholarship reduction means, fewer high school players will be able to enroll at a top academic and football program like PSU, instead they'd have to go to Div 1-AA, which will potentially impact the rest of their life.
Similarly, fewer people attending PSU games will cause losses for hotel owners, food vendors etc etc that rely on 8 home games to prop their businesses.
do some research before you write?
Really? The Freeh resport says otherwise.
Indiana has won five NCAA Championships in men's basketball (1940, 1953, 1976, 1981, 1987) — the first two under coach Branch McCracken and the latter three under Bob Knight. The Hoosiers' five NCAA Championships are tied for third in history with North Carolina (5), trailing only UCLA (11), and Kentucky (8). Indiana's 1976 squad remains the last undefeated NCAA men's basketball champion.
The Hoosiers are also sixth in NCAA Tournament appearances (36), sixth in NCAA Tournament victories (62), seventh in Final Four appearances (8), and 11th in overall victories (1,665).[1] The Hoosiers have won 20 Big Ten Conference Championships and have the best winning percentage in conference games at nearly 60 percent. No team has had more All-Big Ten selections than the Hoosiers with 53. The Hoosiers also rank seventh in all-time AP poll appearances and sixth in the number of weeks spent ranked No. 1.[2] Every four-year men's basketball letterman since 1973 has earned a trip to the NCAA basketball tournament. Additionally, every four-year player since 1950 has played on a nationally ranked squad at Indiana.[3]