College: Penn State Sanctions Handed Down by NCAA

[Drathdon]

Still cant fathom why the NCAA needs to take money and scholarships from Penn State for something the courts are handling.

I mean, regardless of transfers and what-not, that is 15 people each year that WILL NEVER get the free college education they could have gotten. Those scholarships wont appear elsewhere, as every one is taken already. Why should 15 college kids pay for the crimes committed here? And that $60 Million will come from somewhere, too... probably education/library funds. The team bus isn't free now, nor will concession workers work for free. The program still has costs that must be paid. That $60 Million will come from the state, as regardless, the money they give to the school has to go somewhere, and $60 Million of that is now the NCAA's.

This was overreaching, all because Joe is dead and cannot clarify what others are assigning to him. Reactionary, and wrong.

[Jesus]

Something had to be done. They could not look the other way. This will help Penn State focus on academics which is whats important.

[juraitwaluzka]

I despise the NCAA but make no mistake, any fallout from this clearly lies at the feet of those of that facilitated child rape, not the NCAA. PSU as an institution is to blame, they allowed this to happen and now they must pay the price. As for kids losing out on free college, nonsense, nothing is stopping PSU from giving out all the academic scholarships they want, just not for football.

[Beef]

(07-25-2012 07:17 PM)Drathdon Wrote:  Still cant fathom why the NCAA needs to take money and scholarships from Penn State for something the courts are handling.

I mean, regardless of transfers and what-not, that is 15 people each year that WILL NEVER get the free college education they could have gotten. Those scholarships wont appear elsewhere, as every one is taken already. Why should 15 college kids pay for the crimes committed here? And that $60 Million will come from somewhere, too... probably education/library funds. The team bus isn't free now, nor will concession workers work for free. The program still has costs that must be paid. That $60 Million will come from the state, as regardless, the money they give to the school has to go somewhere, and $60 Million of that is now the NCAA's.

This was overreaching, all because Joe is dead and cannot clarify what others are assigning to him. Reactionary, and wrong.

This is by no means intended to make you feel insulted, but you really are still saying incorrect things and making very poor assumptions.

The state comes no where remotely close to subsidising $60 million worth of anything at Penn St. And, anything the state does give to the school is in hard assets or direct services, like buildings and construction, maintenance, upkeep of facilities, state employees and their salaries, etc. etc.

The state doesn't hand the school cash and say do as you like with it, as if it's a donation pulled out of the state's tax revenue accounts. That's simply not how it works.

You keep saying the state and people's taxes are ultimately paying for this, but you couldn't be more wrong. 100% of this $60M is coming from the school's cash reserves which comes directly from profits on everything from sports revenue, TV contracts, technical research and development projects, government contracts on projects, and capital gains on investments inside their endowment or school pension plan.

Colleges like Penn St., Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc. are actually as big as or bigger than many of the mid and large cap private corporations in this country. They privide many different levels and types of services and products just like other billion dollar businesses do, and they get paid well for it.

The state isn't paying 1 cent of this fine and the fine is really very small in relative terms to the school's cumulative liquid assets.

[phocis850]

Anyone associated with keeping this hidden disgusts me. They all deserve to go to jail and are just as bad, in my eyes, as Sandusky. I believe the NCAA acted appropriately. The thought that a school would put revenue and reputation over the lives of individuals is absolutely wrong. The entire school was punished for this. They deserved it.

[Drathdon]

Beef, but what I'm saying is that the $60 Million is being taken. Sure, it may come from profits, but that means the $60 Million wont be there for other things it could have paid (libraries, etc.), meaning it WILL have to be replaced. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. You can't take $60 Million from a state-supported school and it not have an impact.

That said, YES the school does get cash from the state. In fact, this year, as part of the announced statewide budget freeze, Penn State will receive $11.4 million less than its initial appropriation for this academic year, a 5% reduction. So now, the school is not only having to make up the $11 Million shortfall from academic offerings (less classes, bigger class sizes, less funding for activities), but has to cover the $60 Million too. Football will not lose out here, as it makes them money. You are fooling yourself if you do not think this will hurt the current school students, academics, and the hospital (a major part of the University and community).

When Victims sue the school, the justice system will make sure they get the compensation they deserve, after a fair trial. The Justice system will also hold those accountable when proven so, in court, to their crimes. The NCAA has no business taking money. None. The court of public opinion has no business guiding this decision.

Look, they screwed up, and let a pedophile get away with an unspeakable crime. That is unforgivable. Whether it was denial, self-preservation, or any reason, they made a fatal error in judgement. For that, they will pay, be it with criminal time, lawsuits, or professional ostracism. However, the NCAA had no business putting their hand out in the midst of this tragedy, and the players (current and future) should not be accountable for crimes not their fault. The administration made mistakes, but why should FOOTBALL pay for them all? Why not other sports? Why are we rushing to judgment in the first place, and why is the NCAA leading he charge? This is all knee-jerk reactions to the report released, as can be seen from the timing. The NCAA had no authority here.

To show I am not crazy (and NOT defending what happened! Just ashamed that the players not involved are impacted), here are some quotes from an article on Opposing Views that I feel are pertinent.

"It’s a farcical public relations move that distracts the public from actually holding to account those responsible for protecting Sandusky. Former FBI director Louis Freeh had said that the root of the problem was the “culture of reverence” for football. Penn State did more to confront this culture of reverence by taking down their statue of Joe Paterno on Sunday than Mark Emmert did today. If anything, Emmert strengthened that culture of reverence by choosing to grab the spotlight and bathe the NCAA in its saintly glow."

"What Penn State did was commit horrific violations of criminal and civil laws, and it should pay every possible price for shielding Sandusky, the child rapist. This is why we have a society with civil and criminal courts. Instead, we have Mark Emmert inserting himself in a criminal matter and acting as judge, jury and executioner, in the style of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. As much as I can’t stand Goodell’s authoritarian, undemocratic methods, the NFL is a private corporation and his method of punishment was collectively bargained with the NFL Players Association. Emmert, heading up the so-called nonprofit NCAA, is intervening with his own personal judgment and cutting the budget of a public university. He has no right, and every school under the auspices of the NCAA should be terrified that he believes he does."

"We should be talking about how to push for a full investigation of Governor Tom Corbett and his own extra-slow- motion investigation of Sandusky when he was the state’s attorney general. Former Governor Ed Rendell, as a board trustee during Sandusky’s continued presence on campus, should be subpoenaed as well. But instead, we get the maiming of Penn State’s athletic budget for the grand purpose of turning Mark Emmert and the NCAA into something they have no legal right to be. Private, unaccountable actors have no business cutting the budgets of a public campus. Today’s move by Emmert didn’t bring justice to any of Sandusky’s victims. It didn’t help clean house at Penn State. Instead it was extra-legal, extrajudicial and stinks to high heaven."

My final point... A crime was committed, and was covered up. It should be handled in the courts, and those accountable should be removed until they are tried. What the NCAA did is essentially enact judgement (erroneously) on those who were connected only through association. Should someone here commit a crime (say send child porn PM's to another member), would you feel comfortable with Homeland Security (not really an NCAA equivalent... since they do have jurisdiction, and the NCAA did not) making us all pay $10,000 each, and restricting our internet access for 4 years? That's essentially how the players are getting railroaded by Emmert's overreaching.

And please, no one think I am defending anyone other than the innocent players, and demonizing the power-grab of the NCAA. The victims here should be the focus, and are not served by anything Emmert did.

[NOVAFalconFan]

Should have gotten the death penalty. Sandusky was allowed to continue to rape children, not to protect Sandusky, but to protect the program. That demonstrates a complete loss of perspective and institutional control. The program should have been killed.

[Drathdon]

But the whole football program didn't decide to cover this up. A few people did, apparently including Governor Tom Corbett. You're gonna punish Penn State freshmen for what the Governor and past members did, and not punish them? Where is the justice in that?

I also have a problem with damning Joe without his being able to answer allegations when the report only said that someone changed their mind "after talking with Joe." Hypothetical... I go to Joe and say we're going to press the issue (cops had already been notified... see Governor above), and he says "I'm so disappointed. I can't believe anything happened. I still don't know what's going on." You feel bad, so you decide not to push the issue and tell Joe it has all been resolved, because you think to yourself "I can't believe it either." In that case, did Joe tell you not to do it? You changed you mind "after talking to Joe" - but not because he told you not to... and talking to Joe doesn't mean telling him the facts. You could have said "how are you" and he said "I'm not doing good... not gonna last much longer" and you decided to shelf it to not bother someone you look up to and admire.... a wrong call and criminally negligent, but not Joe's fault. I'm not saying it went down like that, or what happened, but without the man to defend himself, I want more evidence before I destroy everything a man did for a lifetime.

This was a bad thing done by several individuals, not a program. We should find those individuals and press that issue, not punish anyone that is easy to do and wins us public accolades. The victims are only served if the guilty are punished. All this did was create more victims.

Does anyone else at least see my side of things, if not agree?

[NOVAFalconFan]

Please, Joe Paterno was the most powerful man in Pennsylvania for 40 years. Nothing happened without his knowledge, and no action was taken without his approval, including when they tried to fire him years back. Not only that, what do you mean the "whole" football program didn't cover it up? Mcqueary knew. Joe knew. The athletic director knew. The university president knew. The janitors knew. The chief of campus police knew. Everyone knew. Also, how is it "punishing" the freshman or anyone else? What right do they have to play or watch football? None. Who had a right not to be raped in the shower by a trusted and beloved figure who sat at the right hand of a revered presence? 42 young boys.

[phocis850]

I don't think you can take the approach of hurting the students because a few handled the situation in a wrong manner.
Those people were employed by the college.
Those people make decisions for the college.
Those people hide the truth for the college.

Yes, it will hurt students. Does that make it fair or not?
Innocent by-standards get hurt all the time. It's not a "fair" thing.