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And so they will have football as usual at Penn State? That just isn't right
Penn State has long been known for having no logo on its iconic white football helmets. Now, even if it is left blank, people will only see the likeness of Jerry Sandusky on one side and Joe Paterno the other.
A dramatic overstatement? I don't believe so.
The university and its biggest long-time symbol, football, has been shamed that much.
Penn State had a pretty good team last year. After the Sandusky scandal was revealed, the Nittany Lions played in some thrilling games. But the aura surrounding those events was hollow.
So is the argument that if Penn State football were to be shutdown for a few years, or even given the so-called death penalty, either by the NCAA or by the governing forces in its state, there would be many people hurt by it.
Not really. Penn State's players would mostly be welcome at other schools. You could honor the scholarships they have - if they wanted to stay without football provided.
College athletics, especially football and, at times, basketball, has too often run amok. According to the administrative structure, Paterno and the football program reported to superiors. In reality, however, they reported to no one.
That false structure let to the coverup of repeated crimes by a pedephile for many years. The reasons have been speculated upon. It could have been to avoid bad publicity. Or Paterno might have been protecting a long-time friend.
The biggest reason they covered it up, probably, is simply because they thought they could get away with it. Who in that state was going to step forward and challenge something as big as Joe Paterno and Penn State football?
So celebrating a Top 15 recruiting class, and just going back to football with different people, yet the same system, is feeding similar food to the culture that created this monster in the first place.
Penn State needs to take a step back from business as usual about college football before it moves forward.
They should not be playing football at that university right now.
A dramatic overstatement? I don't believe so.
The university and its biggest long-time symbol, football, has been shamed that much.
Penn State had a pretty good team last year. After the Sandusky scandal was revealed, the Nittany Lions played in some thrilling games. But the aura surrounding those events was hollow.
So is the argument that if Penn State football were to be shutdown for a few years, or even given the so-called death penalty, either by the NCAA or by the governing forces in its state, there would be many people hurt by it.
Not really. Penn State's players would mostly be welcome at other schools. You could honor the scholarships they have - if they wanted to stay without football provided.College athletics, especially football and, at times, basketball, has too often run amok. According to the administrative structure, Paterno and the football program reported to superiors. In reality, however, they reported to no one.
That false structure let to the coverup of repeated crimes by a pedephile for many years. The reasons have been speculated upon. It could have been to avoid bad publicity. Or Paterno might have been protecting a long-time friend.
The biggest reason they covered it up, probably, is simply because they thought they could get away with it. Who in that state was going to step forward and challenge something as big as Joe Paterno and Penn State football?
So celebrating a Top 15 recruiting class, and just going back to football with different people, yet the same system, is feeding similar food to the culture that created this monster in the first place.
Penn State needs to take a step back from business as usual about college football before it moves forward.
They should not be playing football at that university right now.
posted by Pat Caputo at
11:33 AM
3 Comments:
Pat,
Your comments about PSU going back to business as usual truly irk me. There is another group that will fall into this same category - the media. When this story first broke back in November, my t.v. screen was polluted with this story, just as my computer screen was when reading blogs such as yours. Then something truly peculiar happened - the sexiness of the story went by the wayside for months until the trial began and I didn't hear a peep from you or any of the major news outlets. A few weeks back Sandusky was sentenced and once again there was a story. Then over the last couple weeks NO ONE wrote or covered a single peep of this story. Now there is a report released yesterday and here you are barking about terminating the football program. If you are so concerned about these victims and this travesty, why do you only comment when there is an update to the story? Why does the media as a whole only contribute to this frenzy when there is a new update? Why do people get so upset as a whole about this stuff when no one actually cares enough to go do something about it like become an advocate for stopping sexual abuse? If you are going to have such strong convictions and opinions about this story, then you ought to be covering this at least once a week and not just chiming in whenever there is some new update. Further, regardless of the role that the PSU administration had in this story, they were not the ones that committed these horrific crimes. Joe Paterno's name is at the center of this story because it makes this story a bit sexier. I don't see any headlines in response to yesterdays report that refere to the PSU administration as a whole. Everything is Joe Pa and company. I don't seem to see anything that even talks about Jerry Sandusky. You should check out the show called "The Newsroom" on hbo....it really puts into perspective everything that is wrong with todays media.
No football? Somewhat harsh but to the point. You know, your mom always told you not to lie because it gets worse by the day. Businesses say to not hide bad news that just gets worse with age.
There is no way to explain this cover up, but to say it is unbelievably stupid and beyond corrupt.
They could have got this guy immediately, that would have caused a storm, but would have been recognized as doing the right thing. I think Joe Pa was getting senile at that time but there should have been others that should have nipped this in the bud.
Don't kid ourselves, this president and others high in command are complicit.
Anon said "Further, regardless of the role that the PSU administration had in this story, they were not the ones that committed these horrific crimes."
How out of touch with reality can one be? The investigation has revealed, as many suspected, that Paterno and the administration COVERED UP the abuse for 14 years. How many children could have been spared from the horrific acts of Sandusky if they had addressed it in the first place?
In addition to the administrators being punished to the full extent of the law, Penn State the institution MUST BE held accountable too. A few years of the death penalty would be appropriate. Also, letting any scholarship athlete leave and immediately play at another university would be appropriate. I might even advocate that a university taking a Penn State football player have their scholarship limit increased by one and that Penn State pay the tuition, room and board for the length of the scholarship.
A strong message must be sent to all colleges across the country. Child abuse will not be tolerated. The well-being of children is more important than any program at any school.
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