NCAA Penn State Penalty
Earlier on Facebook, I got wrapped up in the hoopla around the Penn State fine being levied. I figured they were worth putting up here. I'd like to edit it so that it can be one coherent essay, but I've spent too much of my day already talking about it. So for now here it is in all its rawness. Before you read it, let me say that I'd have an easier time believing the condemnation, outrage, and hoopla if these weren't a lot of the same people who look the other way when the Catholic Church does stuff like this. No offense, but Paterno was Catholic, and I thought his response to this was very fitting with how that organization - and also his generation - dealt with these sorts of things. Obviously these are very inflammatory things that I don't really want to broadcast on Facebook, and that doesn't mean that what they did can be construed as right or proper, but I think that's partially how this snowball of evil got rolling in the first place.
The main tenets of the post are expressed in the first paragraph, and then are expounded on in greater detail behind the cut. I'd really like to have a chat about this that doesn't involve a lot of the blind Penn State hatred that exists in WVU land. Thank you.
- This isn't justice, this is vengeance. I understand what happened was terrible, but there are laws against this sort of thing, and we have legitimate channels (courts and prisons) ready to handle them. People will go to jail because they broke the law and they hurt people. The NCAA's actions are tantamount to an angry mob with torches keen on burning the guy's old house down because he was a scumbag and he used to live there. I understand the sentiment, it's very human, but the NCAA has no place in this. I've lost what little respect I had left for them if they think this is responsibly wielding their authority. This is for the courts, the state, and the school to decide the fate of the program.
- This has nothing in common with what SMU did. SMU was paying players to play. That's about college football, how it's played, and the outcome of games, which is something that the NCAA was created to have dominion over the enforcement of those rules agreed to by every member school. That's very clearly in their purview.
This is about a scumbag who abused his position in the football program to gain access to abuse children, and a handful of people who obstructed justice. This is the matter for the police, and the courts. Sickos do the same thing with everything from church and schools to Little League and probably every organization in the world that can put them in contact with children. That's not the organization's fault. You can't expect to know the good and bad in people from a job interview.
This isn't about college football, and this isn't about how the game is played. This doesn't give Penn State a recruiting edge, and didn't adversely affect the game of college football. To my knowledge, this didn't even happen during an official NCAA sanctioned event. Maybe the camps are, but even then, it's a stretch. You think that losing boosters and players just because of PSU's involvement in these crimes isn't punishing the program? Try telling a kid that you're from Pederast State and see if they want to be associated with you. It's going to take a decade just to begin to recover from the stigma of that alone. Penn State and Penn State football will suffer plenty.
This is a crime, one that predates the creation of football in any form, and so does the law and judicial system that punishes it. We have the judicial system to be the voice of reason and calm when emotions run high. This is a very visceral case, but this isn't the first time it's happened in the world, and sadly it won't be the last. If the NCAA levied a $60 million fine against a party clown who did the same thing, you'd see just how far over their bounds they're stepping. Whether or not PSU football is a "bigger brand" than the school itself is irrelevant.
Furthermore, these are damages levied against a institution of a state government that has ramifications to the taxbase and financial health of a city in the State of Pennsylvania. In my opinion, the NCAA has no authority on this matter to penalize the school.
- The "bigger than the school" thing we're just going to have to disagree on. If it's supposed to mean that this is about money, I'm sure that's true, but not the whole truth. I've shared my thoughts on the matter and I don't feel that it's relevant to the discussion in any way, shape, or form. I don't even think those words mean anything. SMU was punished because they cheated at collegiate athletics. The NCAA is an official governing body of college athletics, and where their authority is recognized and relevant. What we're dealing with here are criminal acts, and the NCAA isn't even a public entity, and if these actions catch even one innocent person in the crossfire (i.e., a business owner, a student, a teacher), it would be another casualty that should have been prevented had we just let the wheels of justice turn on their own.
It's the organization's administrators who are at fault. Penn State University and PSU Football are not people, and have no will of their own. They function at the will of its administration. That's not the same thing. To punish them is to punish a straw man. Punish the (then) administration? Fire them, take their pension and donate it to charity, purge them from school history? Absolutely. But once again, this is a legal matter, and the NCAA has no authority on any of it, especially should someone be found not guilty of something. We have laws about this. We have courts for this.
The NCAA is clearly upset because this happened in a very public arena with some popular things with which they're vaguely associated. I get it. It's very easy to want to do something about it, but in this case I think they're confusing what they're doing with what a court of law does. This is for the courts, the State of Pennsylvania, and the school to investigate and decide what blame and punishment belongs where, and in that order. I also think they (the NCAA) are doing it for themselves, because they think people think they should, and not because this is the right thing to do. So, that's part of the reason I'm so opinionated here.
Sandusky deserves to rot, but he also deserves to be treated like an American citizen. The administrators and donors who obstructed justice should be jailed, fined, and never allowed to be associated with a college supported by public funds again, but this needs to be administered by the letter of the law, and not by vigilantes. Not even if they wear three piece suits. I just hope there's something better that can come from this whole mess.
The main tenets of the post are expressed in the first paragraph, and then are expounded on in greater detail behind the cut. I'd really like to have a chat about this that doesn't involve a lot of the blind Penn State hatred that exists in WVU land. Thank you.
- This isn't justice, this is vengeance. I understand what happened was terrible, but there are laws against this sort of thing, and we have legitimate channels (courts and prisons) ready to handle them. People will go to jail because they broke the law and they hurt people. The NCAA's actions are tantamount to an angry mob with torches keen on burning the guy's old house down because he was a scumbag and he used to live there. I understand the sentiment, it's very human, but the NCAA has no place in this. I've lost what little respect I had left for them if they think this is responsibly wielding their authority. This is for the courts, the state, and the school to decide the fate of the program.
- This has nothing in common with what SMU did. SMU was paying players to play. That's about college football, how it's played, and the outcome of games, which is something that the NCAA was created to have dominion over the enforcement of those rules agreed to by every member school. That's very clearly in their purview.
This is about a scumbag who abused his position in the football program to gain access to abuse children, and a handful of people who obstructed justice. This is the matter for the police, and the courts. Sickos do the same thing with everything from church and schools to Little League and probably every organization in the world that can put them in contact with children. That's not the organization's fault. You can't expect to know the good and bad in people from a job interview.
This isn't about college football, and this isn't about how the game is played. This doesn't give Penn State a recruiting edge, and didn't adversely affect the game of college football. To my knowledge, this didn't even happen during an official NCAA sanctioned event. Maybe the camps are, but even then, it's a stretch. You think that losing boosters and players just because of PSU's involvement in these crimes isn't punishing the program? Try telling a kid that you're from Pederast State and see if they want to be associated with you. It's going to take a decade just to begin to recover from the stigma of that alone. Penn State and Penn State football will suffer plenty.
This is a crime, one that predates the creation of football in any form, and so does the law and judicial system that punishes it. We have the judicial system to be the voice of reason and calm when emotions run high. This is a very visceral case, but this isn't the first time it's happened in the world, and sadly it won't be the last. If the NCAA levied a $60 million fine against a party clown who did the same thing, you'd see just how far over their bounds they're stepping. Whether or not PSU football is a "bigger brand" than the school itself is irrelevant.
Furthermore, these are damages levied against a institution of a state government that has ramifications to the taxbase and financial health of a city in the State of Pennsylvania. In my opinion, the NCAA has no authority on this matter to penalize the school.
- The "bigger than the school" thing we're just going to have to disagree on. If it's supposed to mean that this is about money, I'm sure that's true, but not the whole truth. I've shared my thoughts on the matter and I don't feel that it's relevant to the discussion in any way, shape, or form. I don't even think those words mean anything. SMU was punished because they cheated at collegiate athletics. The NCAA is an official governing body of college athletics, and where their authority is recognized and relevant. What we're dealing with here are criminal acts, and the NCAA isn't even a public entity, and if these actions catch even one innocent person in the crossfire (i.e., a business owner, a student, a teacher), it would be another casualty that should have been prevented had we just let the wheels of justice turn on their own.
It's the organization's administrators who are at fault. Penn State University and PSU Football are not people, and have no will of their own. They function at the will of its administration. That's not the same thing. To punish them is to punish a straw man. Punish the (then) administration? Fire them, take their pension and donate it to charity, purge them from school history? Absolutely. But once again, this is a legal matter, and the NCAA has no authority on any of it, especially should someone be found not guilty of something. We have laws about this. We have courts for this.
The NCAA is clearly upset because this happened in a very public arena with some popular things with which they're vaguely associated. I get it. It's very easy to want to do something about it, but in this case I think they're confusing what they're doing with what a court of law does. This is for the courts, the State of Pennsylvania, and the school to investigate and decide what blame and punishment belongs where, and in that order. I also think they (the NCAA) are doing it for themselves, because they think people think they should, and not because this is the right thing to do. So, that's part of the reason I'm so opinionated here.
Sandusky deserves to rot, but he also deserves to be treated like an American citizen. The administrators and donors who obstructed justice should be jailed, fined, and never allowed to be associated with a college supported by public funds again, but this needs to be administered by the letter of the law, and not by vigilantes. Not even if they wear three piece suits. I just hope there's something better that can come from this whole mess.