These are the sanctions imposed by the NCAA on the Penn State football program. As a whole, I couldn't disagree with the decision any more. Yes, I believe that what Jerry Sandusky did was horribly wrong, should never be condoned, and that he should be punished. His 442 years in prison will be ample time for him to reflect on the decisions that he's made in his life. However, I don't think the NCAA spent any time concerning themselves with the implications of these sanctions in relation to the situation at hand.
Sandusky was an assistant coach at Penn State from 1969-1999. The 111 vacated wins from the Nittany Lions' and Joe Paterno's records are from 1998-2011. How exactly does this have ANYTHING to do with what Sandusky was doing? It's egregious that the NCAA thinks that this plays into those 111 victories. An example of a correct vacancy of wins would be the case of Derrick Rose and his one year at Memphis. Rose, allegedly, had someone else take his SAT so he could gain admission into Memphis and play basketball for coach John Calipari. That 2007-08 season, Memphis set an NCAA record with 38 wins, losing in the championship game to Kansas. The wins were vacated, rightfully so. However, life goes on. Rose would become the 2008-2009 NBA Rookie of the Year after being the first overall draft pick, would lead his Chicago Bulls to the playoffs in each season of his short career, and was the 2010-2011 NBA MVP.
So yes, life goes on. But the NCAA handled that investigation the way they were supposed to, especially with their decision. This is what should have been done with Penn State. Punish the individuals directly involved in the scandal. The incoming freshmen on the Penn State football team, who will not be able to play in a bowl game as long as they wear nittany blue and white, did nothing to deserve that. Paterno, despite not doing all he could in the scandal, did not deserve to have 13 years' worth of wins vacated. (His all-time record now stands at 298-136-3, good for 7th on the all-time Division I coaching wins list.) The University did not deserve to forfeit one year of revenue (appx. $60M worth) because of what one of their staff members was held accountable for.
I want to finish by talking about Paterno's legacy. What's pissed me off the most this entire time is that everyone is making this ONE THING destroy Paterno's legacy. He defined Penn State football. He was a champion in the minds and hearts of alumni, players, students, and faculty. He still deserves to be considered the winningest head coach in Division I NCAA football history. He still deserves to be revered as a legend and an icon at Penn State. And the University deserves the reminder of what one man is capable of - good or bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment