Ok, so Penn State didn't get the death penalty, but put in prison terms, they pretty much got a life sentence without the possibility of parole, in terms of football at least. Do I think the punishment was fair? Yes and no. I'm going to go point by point for each of the sanctions. I don't expect most people to agree with me.
The school has been fined $60 million. Perfectly acceptable, if not even a little low. All of the money will be donated to charity. This is a great starting point. For once the NCAA gets something right when it comes to a punishment. I was surprised it was this high only because I read on Sunday that $60 million was the absolute highest the NCAA would go. I thought it would be in the $30-$40 million range, but I'm happy its as high as it is. I could've gone for a nice round $100 million though, that's just me. This punishment has a direct effect on the institution.
Penn State must reduce 10 initial scholarships and 20 each year for the next 4 years. I'm good with this sanction as well, on the condition that it doesn't impact any current students. No one in the student body had anything to do with this case. There is no reason for any current student to have their financial aid reduced because the administration covered up the actions of a monster. The institution should be punished. As long as the scholarships that are being reduced don't adversely effect the current student body, I'm fine with this.
The school must vacate all football wins from 1998-2011. Now we're getting to a point that I don't really agree with. Recently, schools that have had to vacate wins had to do so because of improper benefits, benefits that aided the program. Now I understand that the NCAA wanted to wipe Joe Paterno's name from the record book. But it really doesn't seem fair to all of the Nittany Lion players. They didn't do anything wrong that pertains to this debacle. They played their hearts out and won football games the right way. It's not their fault their coach was, for lack of better terms, a total piece of crap. Again, I get that the NCAA doesn't want Joe Paterno as the all-time wins leader, plus this pretty much guarantees that the statue will never go back up. But this effects people who are completely un-involved in the case. That doesn't seem fair.
The athletic department is on a five-year probation. Pretty standard, it is what it is. Not much to talk about on this one. Also, players may transfer to another school and they're eligible to play immediately. Again, pretty standard.
Four-year postseason ban. This is the one I have the biggest problem with. Why are the players on the team right now being punished? What did they have to do with this? I get that the NCAA wants to punish the school. But they aren't just punishing the school, now they're punishing a football team that wasn't involved. Yes Paterno was their leader. Guess what, he's dead, and before he died, he was fired. He's not there anymore. Football is the biggest revenue generator for Penn State in terms of athletics, so they're an easy target. But my suggestion would be this. Instead of a postseason ban, make Penn State don't every single cent they receive because of football. Everything from ticket sales, to merchandise, to concessions. Every dollar should be donated. Not only that, but the university should have to foot the bill for everything. No taking money from boosters or sponsors. This way the school is punished, not the team.
What the NCAA did in this case sets a very dangerous precedent. I thought the NCAA was in place to make sure schools didn't cheat and to make sure student-athletes followed the rules. While Penn State absolutely deserves to be punished, I feel like the NCAA has overstepped their bounds. This was a legal case, one that Penn State should be ashamed of for a long time to come. It has been reported that they agreed to these sanctions in order to avoid the death penalty for up to four years. I get that the NCAA is punishing the school, I just don't agree with how it's being done. Sure the school gets to have football, but it's football that doesn't mean anything. Recruiting is going to be almost non-existent. The only reasons USC was able to recruit players during their punishment period was that they still got to play on National TV, the sanctions weren't as strict, and USC has been much more competitive in the last decade compared to Penn State.
So while Penn State essentially talked their way out of the death penalty, I'll be shocked if they fair any better than SMU has since they received the sentence. Football is essentially dead at Penn State, and I don't see it coming back any time soon. Which in my opinion, is just wrong. It would be a different story if the entire coaching staff had been a part of this. But as far as we know, it two of them. Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky. Both of whom are no longer a part of the program. But for whatever reason the NCAA decided to punish student-athletes who weren't involved, and that's just wrong.
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