Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - One day after the Joe Paterno statue was
taken down and put into storage, the NCAA has handed Penn State's football
program a similar fate.
While the NCAA did not slap the program with the "death penalty," it stopped
just short of it in delivering unprecedented fines and sanctions that will
undoubtedly hamper Penn State and the football program for years to come.
Two weeks ago it was the Freeh Report that was the buzz of the college world,
as former FBI Director Louis Freeh and his team found Penn State and more
specifically, Joe Paterno, school president Graham Spanier, vice president Gary
Schultz and athletic director Tim Curly guilty of concealing "critical facts
relating to Jerry Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities, the board of
trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large."
Freeh's report was damning, pointing the finger at Penn State's now infamous
foursome.
"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety
and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn
State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14
years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized."
If there was ever a case of "lack of institutional control" it was what has
transpired in University Park over the last decade and a half, by the very men
that had all of the control.
In not serving Penn State the "death penalty," the NCAA took into account many
factors.
"Imposing the death penalty does not address the cultural, systemic and
leadership failures at Penn State. Instead, our approach demands that they
become an exemplary NCAA member by eradicating the mind-set that led to this
tragedy. If imposed, the death penalty would impact far more student-athletes
than those at the Penn State program. Indeed, hundreds of student-athletes who
are not even Penn State students would be negatively impacted."
NCAA Executive Committee Chairman Ed Ray addressed the notion that the NCAA may
be overstepping its bounds in regard to sanctioning Penn State.
"There has been much speculation on whether or not the NCAA has the authority
to impose any type of penalty related to Penn State. This egregious behavior
not only goes against our rules and constitution, but also against our values."
NCAA President Mark Emmert was charged with determining the punitive and
corrective penalties on Penn State, and those sanctions speak volumes to this
unprecedented case.
To start, the university will be fined $60 million with the endowment used to
support programs to help victims of abuse. The dollar figure is equivalent to
one year's gross revenue of the football program.
In addition, Penn State will be hit with a 4-year bowl ban and have its
scholarships reduced as well. All scholarship athletes and incoming freshmen
will be able to transfer without punishment. The football program will also
void its wins from 1998 until 2011 (112 victories) and serve a five-year
probation period.
Of the 112 victories lost, 111 will be taken away from Joe Paterno, dropping
him from major college football's all-time winningest coach (409) to fifth on
the list (298).
In addition to all the punitive sanctions, Penn State will also be charged with
changing the way it conducts business. The university will have to implement
plans to adhere to NCAA rules in the future and will need to sign an athletic
integrity agreement. The school will also have to form a compliance council and
will be under an independent monitor for 5 years, specifically charged with
making sure Penn State is in compliance.
Emmert addressed the notion that the NCAA was quick to judge and did not adhere
to proper due process in coming to its conclusion. Because Penn State signed
off on the Freeh Report and its finding and commissioned the group to
investigate in the first place and the fact that the Freeh Report was more in
depth than any investigation in NCAA history, the feeling was that yet another
investigation by the NCAA would be redundant.
A truly unprecedented scandal was answered by unprecedented sanctions.
"We cannot look to NCAA history to determine how to handle circumstances so
disturbing, shocking and disappointing," said Emmert. "As the individuals
charged with governing college sports, we have a responsibility to act. These
events should serve as a call to every single school and athletics department
to take an honest look at its campus environment and eradicate the 'sports are
king' mind-set that can so dramatically cloud the judgment of educators."
Emmert was also quick to give Penn State credit for cooperating and starting to
move in the right direction.
"The actions already taken by the new Penn State Board of Trustees chair Karen
Peetz and Penn State President Rodney Erickson have demonstrated a strong
desire and determination to take the steps necessary for Penn State to right
these severe wrongs."
The reality is that the sanctions levied against Penn State far outweigh what
would have transpired if the program was shut down for a year or two.
So, while the NCAA did not hand out the "death penalty," those in Happy Valley
may wish they had.
The Sports Network