With Sandusky Convicted, What's Penn State's Punishment?

Anyone who is a college football fan and even those that are not, all felt the disbelief when it was announced that former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky had been sexually abusing young boys for almost two decades. Maybe the disbelief and sickening feeling that most of us got was more due to the fact that the Penn State leadership let this continue to happen, and did not take action when it was necessary. It has been more than eight months since we first heard the allegations put against Sandusky, and this past Friday, justice was somewhat finally served. Sandusky was found guilty on 45 of the 48 counts facing him during his trial and faces a minimum sentence of 60 years in prison (Life for a 68 year old man). There is no doubt in my mind that he will receive what he deserves when he arrives at the state prison and more than likely, will not be in great graces with the current inmates. Even with his atrocious lawyer and their plan to appeal the convictions, the inevitable will come to Sandusky.

Although I could talk about the awful acts committed by Sandusky and how awful I feel for his victims, this article is more about what should happen to Penn State and the Penn State football program; a school and program that deserves to be criticized as much as Sandusky himself. The complete lack of institutional control, cover ups, and fraud, that focused on continuing to collect donor dollars and ignored the pain and suffering that one of their own was inflicting on children. They supplied the man with an office on campus for the remainder of his life, and allowed him to continue operating his foundation "benefiting" children, knowing exactly what he was capable of. It actually seems as if Penn State did more to support Sandusky, than they did to help make the proper people aware of the monstrous acts that Sandusky was committing. 

From the former University President and VP of Finance, to the Athletic Director, to the man who knew Sandusky the most (Joe Paterno), they all did nothing. They chose to preserve the Penn State brand, and not the lives of young men who faced Sandusky every day. So what should their punishment be? Obviously the school will continue to face lawsuits from Sandusky's victims and will pay tremendously through the pocket book. They will continue to apologize profusely and work to rebuild the image that the University and football program once had. Who are we kidding though, Penn State will recoup the money they dish out and the victims, many now grown men, have had their entire lives altered, or even ruined. Penn State must face a punishment that will remind them of why they are paying that money, and why they must work to bring prestige back to Penn State the university, and to the football program.

So how do you punish them appropriately? My recommendation is simple; attack the highest revenue generator and the root of this entire situation, Penn State football. Forbes just rated the program number three in their most valuable football programs rankings at a value of $100 million. That ranking sits behind only Texas and Notre Dame and shows what has come from protecting the brand. My biggest issue with this whole thing in respect to the football program is that they have done nothing! The school donated $1.1 million to a child abuse center, but that affects their football program zero percent. They have not self-imposed anything that actually affects the program not only now, but into the future. Since Penn State does not want to do it themselves, the NCAA must do it for them. This is the definition of "lack of institutional control", something that came up many times in the recent Ohio State tattoo scandal. These two cases do not even come close to comparing in severity, and at the minimum, Penn State should receive twice what the Buckeyes received. The USC punishment handed down in 2010 by the NCAA was something that was viewed as harsh, and I would expect Penn State to get it worse. I am not calling for the Death Penalty like many people have most recently stated, but what I am calling for is a minimum three year bowl ban, loss of 50 scholarships over the next five seasons, no acknowledgement of the former corrupt leadership team at Penn State, including Joe Paterno. 

I know the guy is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and made a difference in many young men's lives, but to me it is more about what he did not do. He let lives be ruined, and then hid it to protect himself and the University, that is not something to be celebrated or acknowledged. The work that lies ahead for Penn State's new administration is steep and will be a very difficult challenge, but bringing back respect to one of America's great universities should be at the forefront of their tasks, not winning football games. It is important to realize what they allowed to happen, and punish the root cause of those issues. I may seem extreme with my punishment, but it is what needs to happen, not only for the University, but for the victims. Lives are more important than games, more important than money, and definitely more important than trying to maintain a brand image.

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