OT: Penn State Postseason Eligibility Restored

[ImperialOrange]

Based on my own personal interactions with PSU alums (I'm friends with about a half dozen of them), I've found them to be incredibly embarrassed and ashamed by this entire scandal. I understand that's relatively anecdotal and a small sample size, but I personally disagree with the generalization that the entire fanbase thinks of themselves as a victim.

That's probably more of a reflection of the company you keep. I've read enough of your posts to realize you are rather intelligent and thus probably aren't surrounding yourself with the meat head Penn State fans.

I live and work amongst the Penn State fan masses. A select few were quite embarressed about the University and football programs role in a grotesque cover up but the overwhelming majority of those that are colleagues by necessity, rather than choice, think A) the football program got steam rolled and did nothing wrong/deserved no punishment B) Joe Pa didn't know anything and I've even heard C) Sandusky didn't do anything wrong, McQueary's story changed si it was all fabricated. Collectively they don't give a single damn what happened to any of those kids or the University wide cover up that allowed it, the injustice is that their precious football program was punished.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Collectively they don't give a single damn what happened to any of those kids or the University wide cover up that allowed it, the injustice is that their precious football program was punished.

This is the heart of it for me, and why I've always thought the program should've been nuked from orbit.

 

[tep624]

I respect your thoughts and see where you're coming from, but I guess I just see it in a different light. I think the chances of something like this ever happening against at PSU are extraordinarily low, and that two more years of a bowl ban will not affect anything. 18-22 year old student athletes who had absolutely no involvement with this whatsoever are paying the price.

In what was one of the most disturbing crimes in American history, I personally feel that justice has been served (pending the conviction of the administrators).

If this was handled correctly, 18-22 year old student athletes wouldn't have had an opportunity to pay a price for this. The only reason that is happening now is because the NCAA allowed PSU's football program to stay open, continue recruiting, and continue offering scholarships. Just the nature of that situation, while enforcing a bowl ban and limitation on scholarships, set up any kid committing to the program to agree to "pay the price". The newly recruited kids knew what they were getting themselves into; if any student-athlete is a victim, it would be those that felt they didn't have any other option but to stick with the program and suffer the consequences.

The program should have been shut down for a few years, and the kids that were in school at the time offered an opportunity to make themselves whole elsewhere. A free transfer window without penalty of losing a transfer year was a start, but the NCAA should have dangled an extra year of eligibility for Juniors or Seniors to incentivize them to go elsewhere. If at that point they decided to stay and finish out their degree at PSU, it's on them but they're still on scholarship and have a right to do that. Remember, 80% or more of these kids aren't going pro, so as long as they are given an opportunity to finish out their degree on scholarship at PSU, or play elsewhere on scholarship, then their interests are being served the best that they can in light of the circumstances. You can't hold back a proper punishment because of the collateral damage it can cause; rather you mitigate that damage by doing things that compensate for it, to the best of your ability.