Following on the heels of my last blog on the dark night, we were introduced to the new dark day at Penn State, yesterday. Following the conviction of former assistant head coach, Jerry Sandusky, on some 45 charges of child sex abuse carried out over 15 years, the time for analysis was over and retribution was the next step. While Sandusky's fate will be sealed by the judicial process, the fate of the Penn State football program lay in different hands.
First off, there was/is the court of public opinion, one that includes the friends and families of all those who were abused under the reign of the legendary Joe Paterno/Jerry Sandusky football franchise. When the scandal broke there was an outpouring of hate for Sandusky, yet continued admiration for Joe Paterno, the winningest head coach in college football history. Student fans even came to his house to hold a vigil after he was fired by Penn State, along with then college President, Graham Spanier, back in November, 2011. Support for Paterno was initially strong, and hatred of Sandusky grew due to Paterno paying the price for another's criminal acts. But it was clearly going to become extremely divisive as various sides stood up for or put down Paterno for his involvement in the scandal.
Secondly, there was the high level investigation headed up by none other than Louis Freeh, a former judge and ex-FBI Director. Many, particularly the family of Paterno, were hoping that this report would fall on the right side for Team Paterno, and that the blame could be clearly placed fully on Sandusky's shoulders. However, Freeh's almost 300 page report was quite scathing of Paterno's role in the cover-up of Sandusky's nefarious actions, dating as far back as the late 90's; this further infuriated the surviving Paterno family members, who obviously felt that a great man's legacy was being torn apart in the absence of a defense.
One of the most tragic aspects of the situation was that not long after the scandal broke, and Paterno lost his job after 46 years of service, he succumbed to cancer and passed away: so he was not around to defend himself or to offer any explanation for his actions, or lack thereof. Thus it would be left to mere speculation as to his reasons for doing nothing following the accusations against Sandusky, especially strange for a man seen as a mentor and leader to young men not only at Penn State, but all over the country.
Thirdly, there was the inevitable step-in by the NCAA. Everyone expected the worst, and some were even predicting it, in the form of the feared "death sentence" of the entire football program at Penn State. This is not what transpired, not least as Penn State were not under sanctions already, but what was handed down was one hell of a blow, and one that might have gone too far in one particular aspect.
NCAA President, Mark Emmert, coolly and calmly handed over the judgement: a fine of $60M (an entire year's revenue for the football program), ineligiblity to compete in bowl games for four years, a loss of 40 scholarships over the next four years, and five years probation. All of this seemed more or less par for the course, until the cliffhanger. In a staggering and unprecedented move, the NCAA have vacated every single win by Paterno and the team between 1998 and 2011.
This unbelievable loss strips a whopping 111 wins from the roster of 409 wins by Paterno, and firmly knocks him off the top spot for wins in major college football, because he now drops back down to 298. As cruel as this seems, especially for a dead man being mourned by a caring, loving family, I feel that this punishment unnecessarily pains his other loving, caring family: the teams! Those who gave their all for him on the field.
While I am totally at ease with the severity of the steps taken by the NCAA against him, I think we should remember that he was fired, and died shortly thereafter of cancer. It is one thing to want to strip a dead man of his professional legacy, but the people who pay the most for the vacated wins surely have to be the athletes who made such a massive contribution to his legacy. They did not indulge in criminal activity to win those games; they won them fair and square and due to sweat, muscle, pain, effort, blood and tears. The fact that their coach had covered up child abuse accusations should not negate their physical victory on the tundra, not least if any of them had actually been subject to that abuse themselves.
Paterno's legendary statue at the Penn State football stadium was ripped from the ground and erased from the college infrastructure yesterday morning, via an order from new President Rod Erickson who stated that it was divisive and would not help the healing process. Again, as drastic and as sad an action as that is, I can see the point, even if it all begins to feel like the wiping out of essentially a man's entire existence, over claims that he never got to respond to or vigorously defend.
What I find troublesome is the taking away of victories that occurred out on green fields, and surely those victories belong as much if not more so to the athletes who achieved them? Why are they being similarly punished? The team victories could have stood, but Paterno could have had his coaching wins reduced for the assigned time period, thus stripping him of his winningest coach title. He was at fault, not his players.
This aspect of the NCAA sanctions can only serve to demoralize the current students at the college, and leave a very bitter taste in the mouths of anyone who gave their all on the field for Penn State between 1998 and 2011. Jerry Sandusky was at fault; well, he was a criminal. Joe Paterno was at fault, but in a more ethical though extremely damaging manner. The players just worked out and won games, as they were asked to do. I think it is sending the wrong message to punish them in this way, and it is simply not fair. Sadly, life rarely is, it seems. - Kevin Mc
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