Deserved Taming of the Lions

In the wide wake of the horrific child sex abuse scandal associated with former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, in a unprecedented and stunning move, the NCAA this morning announced staggering penalties against Penn State University and its once storied football program. Although Penn State was sparred the death penalty, they may have gotten worse.

The wide ranging penalties include probation for five years, $60 million in sanctions, four-year bowl ban, the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011 and the loss of 10 scholarships per year for four years. Current Nittany Lion players have also been given the opportunity to transfer away from the program without penalty.

In addition, the Big Ten Conference censured Penn State, banned them from the league championship game for four years and will prohibit Penn State from receiving television revenue for for years, donating the funds to children's charities to be named later. In conjunction with Penn State vacating the wins, former Coach Joe Paterno, who passed away earlier this year, losses these victories as well and will no longer be recorded in NCAA records as the winningest coach.

We can all agree the Sandusky is nothing short of a monster. As far as Paterno, there are differing opinions regarding the level of his involvement in helping to conceal the horrendous actions of Sandusky. In the aftermath of a scathing report from former FBI Director Louis Freeh, the new brass at Penn State decided a statue of Paterno outside the football stadium would be removed. It was the right move.

For decades, as we witnessed a seemingly clean program in State College, we were told nothing happened up there without Paterno knowing about. Paterno advocates now want us to buy that he had limited knowledge if any regarding the activities of Sandusky.

Certainly, Paterno is not guilty of the vicious crimes of Sandusky.  However, it is more than reasonable to conclude that Paterno had some knowledge of these actions and rather than demanding a full investigation put a stop to it, in an effort to protect his reputation, and that of the University and football program, Paterno stood silent.

University officials administering athletic programs certainly seek to compete and win, but there is much more to winning than the scoreboard.  Although there are many who place Joe Pa in the highest of regard, including droves of former players who are highly regarded athletes and pillars of society, it is most unfortunate that under the watch of the Penn State staff, led by Paterno, children were violated in the very worst of ways.

Therefore, the penalties were appropriate, including the dismantling of the Paterno legacy.

I am reminded of a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Unfortunately, particularly for the children who lost their innocence, when faced with evil, those with the power to act failed us all