Should Penn St. Get the Death Penalty

[lwjr]

I don't think that Pedophile State should get the death penalty. I am incensed at Sandusky's crimes. I am even angrier that Spanier, Paterno and company covered this up. In this world there is black and white with 50 shades of grey separating the two. This wasn't in any shade of grey. The morally, ethically and legally correct thing to do were not hiding in one of those 50 shades of grey. The crimes that were committed are so heinous and so vile that I wouldn't weep over a lynch mob marching through Happy Valley to take care of business.

That being said, I just don't think it is right to penalize the current players to that extent. The kids didn't do anything wrong. What about the women's Tennis Team that is financed through football? They certainly didn't do anything wrong. Should they lose their funding as well? In these tough economic times the State budget won't be increased to cover the budget shortfall due to the scumbags in charge.

Instead of the Death Penalty, I would remove home games from PSU's schedule for at least two years and ban them from TV for three years. I would also limit the number of players that can come for official visits and place the school on probation for 5 years. Finally, I would allow players to transfer without penalty. This will have a long term lasting effect on the program. What the conference partners lose in TV revenues, they will make up for it with an extra home game. The other sports still get access to some revenue.

No matter what is decided. The reputation of the university is going to be tarnished for decades.

Other sports funding didn't seem to matter to NCAA when they handed SMU the DP. Any type of sanctions, if they are as severe as the rumors are saying, will have trickle down effect not only thru out the entire athletic department but entire school as well.

[lwjr]

Multiple year bowl ban plus significant loss of scholarships over period of time and ability for players to immediately transfer would be a big blow to program.
But I can't see two decades worth of damage being done.

Unless they bring in a reincarinated Ken Pye to run the school.

[stc9]

Multiple year bowl ban plus significant loss of scholarships over period of time and ability for players to immediately transfer would be a big blow to program.
But I can't see two decades worth of damage being done.

Unless they bring in a reincarinated Ken Pye to run the school.

I am willing to wager that whoever they bring in to replace Spanier will behave a lot like Ken Pye for several years.

Is it possible for the NCAA to exclude Penn St. from the NCAA? Just suspend their membership for a year? Would that in effect give the entire school the death Penalty? PSU would be excluded from playing any NCAA member school. All student athletes could transfer without loss of eligibility because they are not coming from an NCAA school. It would be like coming from a JUCO.

[lwjr]

Multiple year bowl ban plus significant loss of scholarships over period of time and ability for players to immediately transfer would be a big blow to program.
But I can't see two decades worth of damage being done.

Unless they bring in a reincarinated Ken Pye to run the school.

I am willing to wager that whoever they bring in to replace Spanier will behave a lot like Ken Pye for several years.

Is it possible for the NCAA to exclude Penn St. from the NCAA? Just suspend their membership for a year? Would that in effect give the entire school the death Penalty? PSU would be excluded from playing any NCAA member school. All student athletes could transfer without loss of eligibility because they are not coming from an NCAA school. It would be like coming from a JUCO.

Don't think the NCAA wants to go down that road

[Digetydog]

Multiple year bowl ban plus significant loss of scholarships over period of time and ability for players to immediately transfer would be a big blow to program.
But I can't see two decades worth of damage being done.

Unless they bring in a reincarinated Ken Pye to run the school.

I am willing to wager that whoever they bring in to replace Spanier will behave a lot like Ken Pye for several years.

Part of the problem at PSU is that the students/fans/alums do not accept that the "Program" did anything wrong. In particular, they don't want to accept Paterno is at fault. In their minds, it is a criminal matter involving Spanier, Curley, and Sandusky. After the Board finally fired Paterno, two new members of the Board were elected after running against that decision.

I cannot talk for the rest of the SMU community, but nearly 100% of the students at SMU when we got the DP thought we deserved to get punished even if we thought the DP was going overboard. SMU voluntarily cleaned house as Clements, L Don, Hitch, and Collins left the program. When Pye first arrived, there was support for him. When Doug Single was hired, there was support for him.

Since SMU was a private school, it was pretty easy for the big boosters to force real change (we did overreact). Since PSU is a public university, politics are impeding the ability and willingness of the board to force real change. For example, on of the key board members in the current Governor (and the former AD who did some of the investigation of Sandusky). Board members who force change are likely to get voted off the board.

At PSU, they need a complete culture change (stop worshiping PSU football and St Pervterno) and the Board seems unwilling or unable to go down that road.

[soccermom]

I can't imagine anyone saying they don't deserve the DP.....I'm in hopes that the NCAA will drop the sledge hammer on them. So glad they took that statue down today, too.

[Digetydog]

I can't imagine anyone saying they don't deserve the DP.....I'm in hopes that the NCAA will drop the sledge hammer on them. So glad they took that statue down today, too.

The hard part of the DP is determining that "they deserve the death penalty." Who is "they?" Spanier, Curley, Sandusky and Paterno are gone. If PSU is given the DP, the players will scatter to other pastures.

While the program deserves a serious penalty given the horror show that there management was, I will be happy if they end up getting hammered (as is rumored), but don't get the DP.

When SMU got the DP, "they" turned out to be me and my classmates. I didn't pay anyone. I didn't play football. Nevertheless, my college experience was impacted b/c we unexpectedly didn't play any games for 2 years.

Let them play, but hit them very hard.

[leopold]

I don't know. That's kind of like saying "Well, he robbed someone, but we don't want to send him to jail because that will hurt his mom and girlfriend." I'm not concerned about the students being unable to go to a PSU football game.

It sounds like much of the current admin under both the school and the athletic department are both there - and that's of the people we KNOW had knowledge of the incidents. If so, then they should absolutely be given the DP.

[peruna81]

again-Should Penn State get the Death Penalty? (i.e. did the crimes warrant such a significant penalty under the common opinion of the community?)

Yes.


Will they? (i.e. does it fit the criteria of rules currently listed by the NCAA?)

Not a chance.

[PoconoPony]

Link from Robinson's article on Yahoo http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf--...y-scandal.html

The NCAA is set to levy the first presidential sanctioning in the association’s history on Monday when it will impose what one source termed “significant” and “staggering” penalties against the Nittany Lions' football program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

NCAA president Mark Emmert will announce the Penn State sanctions on Monday. (AP)Two sources with knowledge of the Penn State penalties said NCAA president Mark Emmert will announce Monday that he is personally sanctioning Penn State after receiving approval from the association’s Division I Board of directors, which is comprised of 22 college presidents and chancellors. One source told Yahoo! Sports Emmert’s sanctions will include a “multiple-year” bowl ban and “crippling” scholarship losses. Penn State will not receive the "death penalty."

The move will mark a first in NCAA history, in which the president will invoke a defense of the NCAA’s constitution as part of his reasoning for taking the unprecedented steps. The moment is groundbreaking in that Emmert is circumventing typical NCAA process and moving forward without an investigation by his enforcement staff. However, Emmert is expected to detail that the action is backed by a special provision allowing such a step if he receives approval from the NCAA’s board of directors. A source told Y! Sports the NCAA is prepared to defend the lack of an investigation by focusing on the Freeh Report, and Emmert’s determination that the report provided actionable evidence.

The report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh found that former coach Joe Paterno, former president Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz "concealed" facts tied to Sandusky's abuse of children.

Emmert's discussion of defending the NCAA’s constitution is expected to focus at least in part on Article 2.4 of the NCAA’s constitution, which Emmert excerpted in his letter to Penn State on Nov. 17, 2011. In that letter, Emmert cited the passage that “for intercollegiate athletics to promote the character development of participants, to enhance the integrity of higher education and to promote civility in society, student-athletes, coaches, and all others associated with these athletics programs and events should adhere to such fundamental values as respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility. These values should not only be manifest in athletics participation, but also in the broad spectrum of activities affecting the athletics program.”

Emmert added in that letter that such principles “are the bedrock to the foundation of intercollegiate athletics; and the membership of the Association has made clear through the enactment of relevant bylaws that they are expected to be respected and followed.”

Emmert will announce the sanctions at a news conference 9 a.m. Monday at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis

[Digetydog]

I don't know. That's kind of like saying "Well, he robbed someone, but we don't want to send him to jail because that will hurt his mom and girlfriend." I'm not concerned about the students being unable to go to a PSU football game.

It sounds like much of the current admin under both the school and the athletic department are both there - and that's of the people we KNOW had knowledge of the incidents. If so, then they should absolutely be given the DP.

Fair enough. I just think it is possible to give the school a severe penalty w/o completely banning play. Rumor has it that they will get:
1) $30-60m fine - probably won't be able to get any TV money;
2) scholarship reductions for 3-5 years; and
3) multi-year bowl and TV ban.

With those sanctions, they aren't going to be able to field a competitive team in the Big 10 for years - probably a decade. Essentially, they are getting the "slow" death penalty if rumors are true.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

You know, it really is pretty hypocritical of us to be ripping on the inbreds at Penn State and their statue and library when we still have Clements Hall.

Bring back Atkins!

[Samurai Stang]

You know, it really is pretty hypocritical of us to be ripping on the inbreds at Penn State and their statue and library when we still have Clements Hall.

Bring back Atkins!

SMU has no buildings named after child rapists or their enablers.

[couch 'em]

You know, it really is pretty hypocritical of us to be ripping on the inbreds at Penn State and their statue and library when we still have Clements Hall.

Bring back Atkins!

I am not sure going a little overboard on recruiting violations in an age of systemic cheating is in any way comperable to covering up AND abetting additional molestation and forced sodomy of children for a decade to avoid bad publicity.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

You know, it really is pretty hypocritical of us to be ripping on the inbreds at Penn State and their statue and library when we still have Clements Hall.

Bring back Atkins!

I am not sure going a little overboard on recruiting violations in an age of systemic cheating is in any way comperable to covering up AND abetting additional molestation and forced sodomy of children for a decade to avoid bad publicity.

Oh come on, you know I'm not saying that.

Watching Pony Excess right now again it's just sad to see the clips of Clements and how he tries to sidestep and avoid everything. It's actually kind of scary.

I know we tried to get the name changed in the late 80s (I was there!) but obviously it lost steam. We certainly wouldn't want to do it now because the idiots in the media would just continue to tie our story to the story of the Namblany Lions but it really should happen at some point if we want to really hold our heads high.