Should Penn State Get the Death Penalty?

[Zaac]

NCAA releases statement
By Rachel White
Collegian Staff Writer

The NCAA issued a statement in response to the release of the Freeh report, which came out at 9 a.m. today.

According to the statement, NCAA President Mark Emmert wrote in a letter to Penn State University President Rodney Erickson on November 17 that said the university has “four key questions concerning compliance with institutional control and ethics policies, to which it now needs to respond. ”

According to the statement, the NCAA will decide whether or not to take further action after Penn State responds to the letter.

“We expect Penn State’s continued cooperation in our examination of these issues,” NCAA officials said, according to the statement.

NCAA Releases Statement

I said from the beginning that you don't work for 30+ years with someone and not know that they are doing what Sandusky did.

The football program needs to be completely shut down for a couple of years.

It would be a slap in the face to all the kids this man molested to have that football team back on the field with people screaming and yelling for them as though nothing had happened at the school.

This has been the utmost of loss of institutional control. All involved need to be criminally prosecuted and the football team shut down for the forseeable future.

Yes this will no doubt affect the other non-revenue sports. But I say a big "so what"?

 

[preachinjesus]

This terrible issue has nothing to do with the players and conduct of anything related to the jurisdiction of the NCAA. It would be a huge overstep to have them involved.

 

[Don]

I agree; all involved, including any/all football players, need to be criminally prosecuted.

But why shut down the football program? Only reason I'm asking is, the new coaches weren't involved (and if they were, they should be replaced and criminally prosecuted immediately); and most, if not all, of the current players weren't involved (and if they were, then they should be replaced and criminally prosecuted immediately); so who's actually receiving punishment by shutting down the football program?

Just trying to understand your thought processes.

 

[canadyjd]

Shut the program down for 5 years. Limited scholarships for another 5 years. Forfit every victory and every championship for the last 15 years (the time Paterno knew of the crimes).

peace to youraying:

 

[Don]

Shut the program down for 5 years. Limited scholarships for another 5 years. Forfit every victory and every championship for the last 15 years (the time Paterno knew of the crimes).

peace to youraying:

Okay, I might even agree with the foreiting of the championships; but again, why are you punishing students who had nothing to do with the situation?

 

[canadyjd]

Okay, I might even agree with the foreiting of the championships; but again, why are you punishing students who had nothing to do with the situation?

You punish the program, you punish the school.... because they are responsible for their actions/inactions.

The students can go somewhere else if they want to play football.

peace to youraying:

 

[Don]

Appreciate the clarification. No argument from me.

 

[Don]

Actually, I can think of one argument: If we're criminally prosecuting all the staff, faculty, and anyone else that was involved and/or had knowledge and did nothing, then we're identifying the individual responsibility of those people, and punishing them accordingly.

So why are we punishing the institution as well?

(I can already think of one answer; I'll send it to you in a PM)

 

[Arbo]

At the very least, there should be an official acknowledgement and apology on behalf of the school. Secondly, Paterno's statue needs to be removed, based on evidence that he knew about the goings-on.

That should be just the beginning.

 

[Martin]

The football program needs to be completely shut down for a couple of years.

==While I understand such a move would make some people feel better it would (a) not undo what has been done and (b) it would punish innocent students/players. The people who had criminal knowledge need to be dealt with. The program, and the university, needs to be allowed to move on. Don't destroy a major university or program over this. A major university is much larger than one man or even a group of men.

It would be a slap in the face to all the kids this man molested to have that football team back on the field with people screaming and yelling for them as though nothing had happened at the school.

==The football team, as in the players on the field, did nothing wrong. Therefore I'm not sure I see how them playing would be a slap in the face to anyone.

Martin.

 

[Alcott]

Why not shut down the entire university for a time? After all, the president also was faulted and fired. For that matter, why was the Roman Catholic Church not ordered shut down amid the child molesting offenses?

Meanwhile, with the viciousness of sports fans, it's easy to see this whole thing being developed into a new theme in going up against Penn St. They may call the kick holder the 'Sandusky positoin.' May yell "No blocking below the waist!" And, of course, going there is 'going to State Penn.' Similar to the last time Miami played at Notre Dame, the fans made banners like "Catholics v. Convicts." And years ago, when there were several suicides among high school students at Plano (TX) High School-- reasoned to be because of the affluent suburb's status of high expectations by parents-- when they played a district rival some students from that other school displayed a big banner that said "Kill Plano before they kill themselves!"

 

[Berean]

This horrible incident is in my opinion the biggest sports stories of my time. but I can't help but think of the many times we have stuck our heads in the sand or looked the other way when a high profile athlete or a coach with a winning record has stepped well across the boundry or morality. This has caused me to reflect on this in a different light. I can think of numerous football programs that are win at any cost'
Yes I think the FB program should have the DP and the institution should be penalized.

 

[just-want-peace]

In any situation like this, just as in war, there are going to be innocents hurt!
"No man is an island--" etc. This is the nature of sin - it hurts people far removed from the initial impact zone.
Collateral damage is as sure as the sun rising in the east. IMHO one of the most damnable and common are the children of divorce; especially a bitter one.
I'm just thankful I'm not the one to determine the punishment!

 

[Zaac]

I agree; all involved, including any/all football players, need to be criminally prosecuted.

But why shut down the football program? Only reason I'm asking is, the new coaches weren't involved (and if they were, they should be replaced and criminally prosecuted immediately); and most, if not all, of the current players weren't involved (and if they were, then they should be replaced and criminally prosecuted immediately); so who's actually receiving punishment by shutting down the football program?

Just trying to understand your thought processes.

I think it needs to be shut down because the checks and balances that should have been in place to make sure that no one person(coach, president, athletic director, etc,.) would have the ability to break the law and allow such a heinous thing to continue because he's trying to protect his image as well as the image of his storied, squeaky clean program.

The program in essence has served as multi-decade cover for a pedophile. This is so many times worse than the lack of institutional control the NCAA said SMU didn't have.

Coaches have to abide by NCAA rules also. And can there be any greater example of lack of institutional control than a head coach who allows another coach to use the institution and its football team as bait to molest children?

Penn State needs to do the right thing and pull the team for a couple of years if not more.

if you get folks start threatening to boycott those companies who are still supporting them fielding a football team this year, they will get smart and just do it.

 

[Zaac]

Okay, I might even agree with the foreiting of the championships; but again, why are you punishing students who had nothing to do with the situation?

Punish the students. Who cares. It's football. The craziness over this game is the very reason this foolishness was allowed to continue. Too many folks acting like the students are gonna die if they don't have a reason to party and get drunk during the fall.

Shut it down and if the students think it's punishing them, transfer.

 

[Zaac]

==While I understand such a move would make some people feel better it would (a) not undo what has been done and (b) it would punish innocent students/players.

(A) It wouldn't be a gesture meant to undo what was done and (B) again who cares if the students think they are being punished.


It's FOOTBALL. They are there for an education. If they feel like they deserve a football team to complete their college experience, who cares?

If the folks in charge had shown the same level of concern for those innocent molested kids as folks are now showing for those innocent students, there wouldn't be an issue.

But there is an issue and it's time that this school grow a pair and do what will go a long way towards helping people feel as though they are really troubled by what happened.

The more the institution and its students fight to keep the football program in play in the immediate future, the more negatively it reflects on them elevating football to a status where it supersedes the safety of those kids.


The litigants from those cases need to sue the university, individuals and the athletic association for several hundred million dollars. If they don't want to shut the program down for the forseeable future, then bankrupt them and make them shut it down.

The people who had criminal knowledge need to be dealt with. The program, and the university, needs to be allowed to move on.

No they don't need to be allowed to move on. Like the twelve stones that were laid out after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, this needs to serve as a reminder to future students, staff and coaches that this can NEVER happen again because of a GAME. The only thing that is going to reflect upon that university taking what happened seriously is for them to on their own make the decision to suspend the program for the forseeable future.

I mean you've still got this man's family coming out talking about the report and what they are saying he knew is false. Like his family, it appears that the university isn't taking too seriously what happened. On the contrary they appear to be doing everything they can to not have to suspend the program. And it stinks all the way up to God's nostrils.

Don't destroy a major university or program over this. A major university is much larger than one man or even a group of men.

The university wasn't founded on football. The program and the university allowed themselves to be ruled by the desires of one man to put a certain face on football program. And now they need to deal with the fallout.

Shut it down.

==The football team, as in the players on the field, did nothing wrong. Therefore I'm not sure I see how them playing would be a slap in the face to anyone.

Martin.

So what? The kids who got molested didn't do anything wrong either. But like I said, if the university doesn't want to do the right thing, take the ball out of their hands and bankrupt the athletic association.

 

[Don]

Going back to where I said I could think of an answer, but would send it in a PM:

You shut down this university's football program as a message to all other institutions that this behavior is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. You engage in that same kind of culture, where illegal behavior is tolerated and even covered up because sports "glory and fame" brings in money to your institution, and you'll get shut down, too. THAT'S why the football program needs to be shut down. I would even go so far as to say, class action suit against the university for any/all students during the period that the illegal activities occurred, especially with the knowledge of the staff who did nothing. Might only work out to about $5 for each student, but that's the kind of message we need to send all of our educational institutions.

 

[webdog]

Football program needs a 3 - 5 year "death penalty" followed by no scholarships or bowl appearances for another 7 - 10 years after that.

This will ensure the program is irrelevant and not a source of money to the university for at least 2 decades.

 

[preachinjesus]

The entire FBS system of the NCAA is corrupt to the bone...we need a thorough cleansing. Its a new kind of slavery (yep, I said it) where a handful of elite companies/individuals get rich off the pain, agony, and talent of a group of, usually, underprivileged individuals...It's just the humane version of the Hunger Games.

That said...if Penn State were to get the death penalty for their non-football related crimes (none of this horribleness happened on the field of play, during games, related to student athletes, or had to do with improper benefits) then the following school's football programs should also be silenced for the same period of time:

* University of Miami
* University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
* University of Southern California
* University of Oregon
* Ohio State University
* Auburn University
* University of Tennessee
* Louisiana State University
* University of Alabama

And the Fiesta Bowl should be officially ended.

Top level College Football is about as corrupt as Washington DC down through the state legislatures. Enough money and bribes change hands going into every fall that we could solve all the healthcare problems in the US twice. We've taken a system that sought to help out young men who are gifted athletically by providing them with a quality education in exchange for having fun playing the game they love and turned into the minor leagues for the NFL.

I don't think Penn State will, or should be, sanctioned. The illegal activities are non-football related as pertains to the running of the program and in way created an unfair advantage for the football team. That is the definition of what the NCAA can regulate.

Listen, Sandusky is one of the most horrible individuals I've ever heard of and I can't imagine he lasts long in prison. I pray he finds Christ. Joe Paterno has been completely destroyed in this process. Basically we've got everything the media loves...the destruction of a legend by his own actions. Sells newspapers and writes itself. But this has nothing to do with what happens on Saturdays.

 

[Magnetic Poles]

If SMU deserved the penalty for its infractions, certainly the Nittany Pedophiles do.