Penn State

I for one am delighted about the sanctions against PSU.

Susan has articulated this so well, that I'm posting her thoughts here:

"My take on the NCAA sanctions is that they were spot on.  My opinion is mostly informed by what I read in the Freeh report. Sandusky is a sexual predator that targeted young boys, using PSU facilities to cultivate and attack them.  This took place over 14 years at PSU, with the knowledge of Paterno, the Athletic Director, the President and Vice President of the University. Oh, and the campus cops, the janitors, and several molested children's mothers.  That's systemic enabling of child molestation and a calculated coverup so as not to tarnish the football program.  The most powerful men in the university let Sandusky go at it for over a decade, never informing the police, but trying to best keep it quiet.  No action or concern at all with regards to the past, current or future victims of the predator.

It wasn't Watergate that did Nixon in, it was the Watergate cover up.

I like the sanctions because they really hit particular targets.  Negating the wins since 1998 when the cover up began hurts only Paterno (alumni pride, too, but so what), who will no longer be the winningest coach ever.  It would be interesting if he was still alive.

The five years probation, loss of 20 scholarships, and four years of no post season games hits the football program, which was considered by the university to be above the law.  The current football players can transfer to other schools without a penalty, so each player can make a choice about how to continue their football college career. Nicely done.

The $60M fine to the university punishes the university and ultimately points the finger at the governing body of the football program, and PSU shoulders the ultimate blame. Right.

The choice not to nuke the football program is a good one too - there can be a healing around building a different kind of football tradition at PSU.  PSU will go on, but hopefully not stacked with people in areas of responsibility who turn a blind eye to child molestation and hold the reputation of the football program more important.

It must be enormously difficult to be a student or alumni there now.  But the truth came out, Sandusky is in jail, the other culpable people and organizations have been punished _where_it_hurts_. I am far more outraged at the systemic enabling of a child molester than the punishment that PSU received for aiding and abetting and covering up.  But, I also feel that there is no grey area at all when it comes to adults having sex with children.

I remember several years ago we had a conversation about Paterno, and I was telling you how much I admired him.  Sigh.  Letting a child molester attack children for years trumps all he did in football, to me  - the man lost sight of what was important."