Fate worse than death (penalty)?
Penn State didn’t receive the dreaded death penalty, but it can be argued that the unprecedented sanctions handed down by the NCAA on Monday were equally as harsh, if not more severe.
NCAA president Mark Emmert announced sanctions that include:
- A $60 million fine, with the money going toward an endowment to support victims of child abuse and for prevention programs. The total is based on the revenue generated by the Penn State football program in one year.
- A four-year ban on participation in bowl games or any postseason games.
- A reduction in football scholarships from 25 to 15 per year.
- Students on football scholarships can transfer to another school and be eligible to play immediately instead of sitting out one year.
- Students on football scholarship can elect not to play football but will retain their scholarships.
- Penn State must vacate all football victories since 1998, when the first allegations of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual misconduct were made.
- The NCAA reserves the right to look into penalties against any individuals after criminal proceedings are completed.
In addition to the sanctions, the NCAA announced “corrective” measures centering on Penn State instituting recommendations from the investigative report compiled by the firm of former FBI director Louis Freeh. The NCAA will pick an independent athletic integrity monitor to assure compliance and to make certain Penn State makes progress toward implementing the recommendations.
The first issue addressed during Monday’s news conference was whether the NCAA had the authority to punish Penn State for its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct against Sandusky, who served as defensive coordinator through the 1999 season. The explanation was that not only does the NCAA have the authority to act, but the “NCAA has the responsibility to act.”
“This strikes at the very heart of what intercollegiate athletics is about,” Emmert said.
Anticipating criticism that this will mark the beginning of the NCAA imposing penalties for actions that don’t necessarily violate specific rules and by-laws, NCAA officials described the Penn State situation as having a very unique set of extenuating circumstances. Emmert said the Penn State situation is completely different from enforcement cases dealing with specific rules violations.
Other messages sent, according to NCAA officials, are that the presidents and chancellors are in charge, not the athletic programs, and that the athletic culture should not overtake or overshadow the athletic culture. This is clearly what the NCAA believes occurred at Penn State.
The impact on Penn State’s football program will be devastating. The reduction in scholarships will take 40 scholarships away from Penn State over a four-year period. In four years, there will need to be a significant number of walk-ons in order for Penn State to field a full squad. The four-year ban on bowl games and appearances in league championship playoffs also will make it more difficult to recruit players to Penn State.
Furthermore, allowing players currently at Penn State to be eligible immediately at a new school removes an obstacle that discourages transferring for athletic reasons. Allowing students to remain at Penn State on scholarship even if they choose not to play football there also, potentially, reduces the number of scholarship players on the field for Penn State, thereby increasing the need for walk-ons.
The decision to vacate all wins since 1998 removes 111 wins from Joe Paterno’s total (and takes away Bill O’Brien’s bowl victory last season). According to official records, Paterno will move from the winningest Division I football coach in history (409 wins) to eighth overall (298 wins).
The statue of Paterno, commemorating his 324th victory, which moved him past Alabama’s Bear Bryant and into first place on the Division I (excluding Division I-AA) victory list, was removed from outside Beaver Stadium on Sunday.
“Against this backdrop, Penn State accepts the penalties and corrective actions announced today by the NCAA,” Penn State President Rodney Erickson said in a statement. “With today’s announcement and the action it requires of us, the University takes a significant step forward.”
Emmert also points out the university also accepted the findings of the Freeh Report, upon which much of the decision to impose severe sanctions is based. Unlike in typical cases, the NCAA did not conduct its own investigation before imposing penalties.
The Paterno family and others have taken issue with the Freeh Report, which faults the senior leadership of Paterno, Penn State president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, the vice president of business and finance. Curley and Schultz, awaiting trial on criminal charges for failing to report a 2001 allegation of sexual misconduct involving Sandusky and a boy in the showers of the football facility to either police or the Department of Public Welfare, did not speak with investigators. Paterno died before speaking with investigators, although the Freeh Report notes that investigators believe Paterno would have done so if had not died in January.
Critics of the Freeh Report contend that it includes conclusions based upon inferences and speculation rather than evidence.
The entire archive of Penn State and Joe Paterno pieces on PhillyPhanatics.com:
Paterno one of a kind (11/3/10)
400! (11/6/10)
Paterno, Nittany Lions looking ahead (12/31/10)
Penn St. enters season with question marks (9/2/11)
Let’s learn the facts (11/8/11)
From where I sit: Penn State’s culture contributed to its crisis (11/9/11)
‘Devastated’ Paterno to retire after season (11/9/11)
Penn State Board of Trustees fires Paterno (11/9/11)
In defense of Paterno (11/19/11)
Paterno dies at age 85 (1/22/12)
Paterno was the best (1/24/12)
Rushing to judgment (again) (7/4/12)
Failure of leadership at Penn State (7/12/12)
Doing what’s right (7/14/12)
NCAA football posts - Chronological list & links | Philly Phanatics - THE online community for Philly sports fanatics Says:
[...] Worse than death (penalty)? (7/23/12) [...]
Posted on July 25th, 2012 at 9:40 am
NCAA misses mark | Philly Phanatics - THE online community for Philly sports fanatics Says:
[...] commissioned by Penn State, the NCAA threw caution to the wind and hammered Penn State with draconian sanctions, including a $60 million fine, a four-year postseason and bowl ban and a reduction of scholarships [...]
Posted on July 26th, 2012 at 10:06 pm
AGM Says:
Is the NCAA going to ban Roman Polanski films also? Are they going to ban anyone who associates with Roman Polanski? No one believed Samatha Geimar at the time and many people helped Polanski to escape to France. Is the NCAA going to ban French citizens from participating in college sports? Polanski never paid her the settlement money either.
The whole NCAA ruling was vindictive and nothing else.
In 1998, the prosecutor dropped charges against Sandusky, not Penn State. Why did Emmert go back to 1998 for vacating the wins? Because he is a vindictive twit and hypocrite.
Furthermore, McQueary said that he saw a rape of a minor and did nothing. Then he claims he broke it up but he let the victim go home with the attacker? He didn’t call police but talked to his father? Did I miss something? Yet McQueary is not being prosecuted for not reporting a crime. That is bizarre.
McQueary’s statement to the Penn State officials was wishy-washy but to the prosecutors, his testimony became decisive. Then he went on air to say that he put a stop to the rape yet the victim went home with Sandusky. No call to police but McQueary sees himself as a hero.
Posted on July 31st, 2012 at 7:20 am
Eric Fisher Says:
AGM, I don’t think the Roman Polanski analogy completely works, but I understand your point. I completely agree with you that the NCAA vacating Penn State’s wins going back to 1998 was vindictive. They simply don’t want Paterno to have ever been the wins leaders among Division I (now BCS) schools. As for my opinions (and Ron Opher’s opinions) on the Penn State situation, I suggest you see my current column, “NCAA misses the mark,” and click on “NCAA” on the bar near the top of our home page (www.phillyphanatics.com) and then click on football for more stories and commentary.
It’s an interesting point you raise about McQueary. As I’ve pointed out numerous times, McQueary testified that he did not give Paterno explicit details of what he says he saw in the showers in 2001, which is one reason to believe Paterno didn’t understand the nature of the accusation. What is possibly of greater importance is what McQueary eventually told Curley and Schultz. I suspect that Curley and Schultz will argue in their trial that McQueary did not tell them he saw Sandusky engage in any overtly sexual acts, and they will back that up with Graham Spanier’s claim that he never heard that the 2001 incident was sexual in nature. BTW, this will not excuse their inaction, but it may prevent them from being being convicted for not reporting the allegations under the Clery Act.
And let’s keep in mind that, like Curley and Schultz, McQueary was not interviewed for the Freeh Report. That’s another reason I find the NCAA’s sanctions premature. We don’t know the whole story.
Posted on July 31st, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Eric Fisher Says:
On second thought, all the links to articles AND our radio show are listed above.
Posted on July 31st, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Penn State fallout over Freeh Report: Does the truth matter? | Philly Phanatics - THE online community for Philly sports fanatics Says:
[...] didn’t even look for it. It jumped on the conclusions of the Freeh Report and quickly handed down draconian sanctions. The NCAA didn’t wait to “hear from the defense,” as Costas put it, before imposing [...]
Posted on September 3rd, 2012 at 9:55 am