As a fan of college sports, as a former college athlete, and as a parent, I think that the NCAA should hand out the death penalty to PSU. At no point should a coaches legacy or an institutions public perception be more important than putting a child rapist in jail. If the death penalty currenty doesn't apply to PSU, then they should change the rules. The depths of this cover up are far from being exposed. There is no penalty too great for a publicly run institution that allowed this to happen. For any institution really.

If it can be proven, as the mounting evidence seems to indicate, that JoePa, the PSU head  FOOTBALL coach, was deeply involved in the cover up, then, IMHO, the NCAA is within its scope of authority to hand down a severe penalty to the Penn State FOOTBALL program.  The involvement of other higher ups goes to prove the point of lack of institutional control, but it was a FOOTBALL coverup -- albeit with aid and comfort from other levels of the administration.  Basically, this is a FOOTBALL scandal that touches other aspects of the administration but doesn't directly involve other sports -- at least so far as the public evidence to date would indicate. 

Read what OCF just posted above me here.  That's what I'm referring to (the obvious cover-up).  No, I don't think the death penalty should be handed down.  I have never said that once, I have said the NCAA should make a clear statement that this isn't acceptable.  And no, I don't think a program should be punished for those rape charges if the school acted on it quickly and diligently, which they did.  A DUI should not cost scholarships because that's just ridiculous.  It really doesn't lead to a slippery slope of illegal activity.  We're talking about the sexual abuse of children.  By a coach.  

I don't think any person in their right mind would attribute this to the NCAA becoming the morality police, because of the nature of the crime.  

Do I know what kind of punishment they should receive?  No, because I don't have to make that decision, and I get to sit here in my comfy chair and watch without having to get involved.  So you can discredit my opinion all you want.  We'll just have to agree to disagree, mate.  

Conspiracy theory would imply someones opinion.  I was merely agreeing with Monroe that lots of money is involved.  If you are truly interested than take a few minutes and educate yourself in the facts. 

How to educate yourself:

1- Learn what the above organization represents
2- Their tax deductible contributions are public record
3- Look at the national campus organizations that willingly accept contributions from the above organization
4- Go on the PSU campus and begin speaking out against those organizations
5- Get back to us and let us know how that works out for you (warning- protestors have been known to show up at private residence as well as your place of employment - speak out softly when you get to step 4)

Note: If you agree with the mission of the above organization than the discussion is irrelevant

Humor injected into an emotional, serious discussion in a manner that is neither vitriolic toward the participants nor insensitive toward the victims?
**slowclap**

Again show me anywhere in the bylaws of the NCAA that has ANYTHING written about this.  It is not the NCAA's job to enforce the law, it is the job of the NCAA to enforce its..bylaws, of which Penn State did not break any.

If Sandusky were a in ANY OTHER profession, would  we be demanding that his former place of employment be shut down because of his crimes?  If he had been say, a math professor, would we be calling for the University as a whole to be shut down?  The math department?  If he worked for a major bank, should it be shut down - or just the branch he worked in?

We throw around terms like 'loss of institutional control' as if they apply here.  There is no loss of institutional control if for no other reason that there is no precedent for this. Is what happened illegal?  Yes.  Is it against somthing in the NCAA?  No.  Have there been repeated offences while on NCAA probation?  No.

Furthermore, this is a slipery slope. If the NCAA over steps its bounds here, it would then have to come up with punishments for anybody affiliated with any team at any college that commits any type of crime.  You simply cannot make one acception in this instance, or else what do you do when something almost as horendous happens, or more so?  Everything from a DUI to mass homicide would have to carry with it some from of NCAA punishment.  That or the NCAA has to decide what is and what is not 'illegal enough' to bring the hammer down on, which would be even more dangerous.

Maybe if we did shut down programs for a mass homicide, drug dealing, rape, etc., then we could clean up college football.  

The situation here is pretty clear.  The leadership of the football team...knew of a repeated criminal act taking place within the confines of their program facilities and did not do enough to see that the criminal act stopped.  In fact it continued to publicly surface on numerous occasions for several years.   

If the same coach was smoking and dealing crack in the schools locker room shower and the other football coaches and school administrators knew about it but didn't do anything to stop it would we still be debating if they deserve an NCAA sanction? 

The NCAA will not hand out the death penalty again unless the administration and all involved with the program are belligerent about probation. They can do bowl ban and scholarship limits in this case. If they were placed on probation for the first incident and continued to let  Sandusky molest kids in the football offices, then you have a death penalty case. And that is only if the boosters and PSU administration said no, we want Sandusky molesting kids in our facilities. The death penalty is for REPEAT offenders who won't change. The firing of everyone once it came to light by the board does enough to show some institutional control.

If Sandusky had been caught in the act and turned over to authorities this would have been a huge story but no NCAA issues.  However, the knowledge of the act and continued acts with no action allowed for more victims on campus football facilities.  PSU is facing some serious legal challenges.  It is an athletic department scandal and cover up.  I don't see how the NCAA can pass on this.  The football leadership cover up resulting in more victims is where the NCAA makes their statement. 

My example was to compare the govenor to the NCAA, not the severity of the crimes.



The murder prompted NCAA investigation...the penalties that were handed out were because of improper benifits  that the players were receiving, drug use and other NCAA violations that had occured.  While you could argue that there is a connection between the two - the NCAA did not punish Baylor directly for the murder.

I don't see how I'm thinking with blinders on..my first line in this thread started with "I hope"

If the NCAA decides to launch a probe into Penn State, and uncovers infractions which would cause NCAA probation..I have no problem with that.  It's within the scope of what the NCAA is supposed to do.  If it takes these issues to trigger said probe, then so be it - I'm fairly sure any school could be probed at any time.

However, like I've said before - if the NCAA takes action against Penn State with the sole reason being the issue previously discussed, then the NCAA has over-stepped its bounds.