We Are ... Horrified

[Sarkus]

Right. Because another school looking at this will conclude that the millions and millions PSU is going to lose in the upcoming lawsuits will still have made it worthwhile but losing their football program, that would push it over the top in term of risk/reward analysis.

How many millions and millions are they making each year on their football program again?

There are at least 10 victims that we know of and probably more. That could mean a hundred million in payouts or more. Yes, Penn State football generates a lot of money ($30m/year according to some sources), but when all is said and done its going to be a long time before the footbally money offsets what they have to pay out. Not to mention that since Penn State is a public university, taking away any source of income will simply shift the financial cost to the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.

The Freeh report goes after four people. They were the ones at Penn State that knew what was going on and made the horrible decisions. They were all fired by the board of regents as soon as this came out last fall.

So who are these proposed NCAA sanctions penalizing, anyway?

[LordMortis]

I'm curious, if Penn State doesn't give the program the death penalty and the NCAA doesn't give the program the death penalty, do other teams have the right to shun Penn State? To simply say "We won't play them." I'm not saying they should or shouldn't. (though I believe PSU itself would best be served PR wise to shut the program down)

[hepcat]

College football is way too big of a business for that to happen, in my opinion.

[Trent Steel]

The Freeh report goes after four people. They were the ones at Penn State that knew what was going on and made the horrible decisions. They were all fired by the board of regents as soon as this came out last fall.

And those four people were part of the highest order of the institution at large. They must individually pay a penalty as well as the institution itself.

To continue on as though nothing happened with a few different faces in the mix would be beyond nauseating.

[Smoove_B]

Inspired by America's love for the Game of Thrones, perhaps they should melt down this statue and pour it over Sandusky?



"They ask me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach."

But seriously, now that the report is out, how do you keep that kind of stuff around? My wife has family that are PSU alums and her cousin announced back in February she was accepted there and will be attending. I have no idea how the "brand name" of PSU just walks away from this. From what I understand the whole "JoePa" thing is everywhere. Not just the college but even in the businesses surrounding the college.

[hepcat]

I wonder how Paterno's family is going to respond to the Freeh report. They've been quiet since it was released...and this was after a flurry of interviews in which they essentially kept saying the report would exonerate him.

I also wonder what kind of rallies and outbursts we'll see from the hardcore Paterno supporters who've been behind him every step of the way.

[LordMortis]

I have no idea how the "brand name" of PSU just walks away from this.

Bury the name in references to Power Supply Units for the next five to fifteen years? Realistically, I think 7 ought to do it. By then today's middle school kids will be in college and today's elementary school kids graduating high school would think would think 2012 was ancient history.

[Smoove_B]

I wonder how Paterno's family is going to respond to the Freeh report. They've been quiet since it was released...and this was after a flurry of interviews in which they essentially kept saying the report would exonerate him.

They put forth a statement two days ago, but I haven't seen anything about the latest info:

As the people who worked closely with Joe know, he was tough, aggressive, opinionated and demanding. He was also highly principled, uncompromisingly ethical, dedicated to his job at Penn State and committed to excellence.

When the Sandusky case exploded last fall, Joe's first instincts were to tell everything he knew. He assumed the University would want to hear from him, but he was never given the chance to present his case.

He planned to hold a press conference, but University officials ordered him to cancel it. And then the various investigations started and the legal process took over. On top of everything else, Joe was diagnosed with lung cancer. Two months later he was gone. The end result is his story has never fully been told.

It's actually pretty long, but linked in that news article.

[RLMullen]

As much as I want to say that this case has nothing to do with football, as much as I want to focus on the crimes and criminals that are responsible, at the end of the day this case is about college football. It is about the desire for success in college football being so great as to allow a coach to become more powerful than the very people whose job it is to run the university. It is about the millions* of people who so want to have the title, whatever the title and trophy will be this year. It's about the millions who want to cheer for something that they are a part of, and something that is a part of them. It is about these people bestowing god-like qualities on the people who can deliver the title. It is about those who reach the heights of god-hood abusing the power that they are given.

Penn St. alumni and fans are responsible for giving Paterno the adoration and power that he had. As such they should bear some of the brunt of his punishment. Their punishment should be the loss of that which they hold most dear -- the football program and a chance at the title. This is a harsh statement, and one that would have me in fear of my own safety in some parts of the country.

I'm going to double-down. I think that all of us who love college football share a bit of the same responsibility as the Penn St. fans and alums. The fans of Penn St. wouldn't care so much about their college football team if the rest of us didn't care so much about college football. All of us who like college football elevate the sport and its organizations to a pedestal that we are willing to turn a blind eye to the behavior of its participants so long as we can all collectively chase the title. We overlook cheating, drug use, petty and not so petty crime by players and coaches. We accept that scholarships are given to people who haven't earned their way into a given school, and in some cases shouldn't be anywhere near a college campus. When these people are caught, we get caught up in the charade that is an NCAA investigation. This is the environment that creates the "Joe Paternos".

In my view the only real punishment that will do any good is to give college football, all of college football, the death penalty for about five to ten years. Maybe all of us can then put this sport back in its rightful place... as a fucking sport, and nothing but a sport!



* I'm guessing that a school as large as Penn St. has alumni and fans numbering in the millions.

[hepcat]

I think that's a little unfair. The fact that it did result in a huge outcry is proof that folks weren't willing to brush it under the table after they found out. We give a lot of people adoration for lesser accomplishments. It's the nature of things. But that doesn't automatically make fans complicit in the crimes of their objects of adoration simply by being fans.

[PLW]

A
In my view the only real punishment that will do any good is to give college football, all of college football, the death penalty for about five to ten years. Maybe all of us can then put this sport back in its rightful place... as a fucking sport, and nothing but a sport!

Michael Jackson got away with what he did because of the way we idolize pop stars. Should we shut down the music industry too?

[LordMortis]

Michael Jackson got away with what he did because of the way we idolize pop stars. Should we shut down the music industry too?

If execs at EMI or whomever his publishers were were enablers that looked the other way or actively covered up MJs sexual predation of children, then I say those companis should be shut down and not by music industry peers or ASCAAP or the RIAA or anything, but rather by the legal system but that's my opinion. Oddly enough I seem to take that with a bit more "burn them to the ground" attitude then I take the Penn State football program, probably because decisions made here affect so much more than just the actual football program.

[Sepiche]

He was also highly principled, uncompromisingly ethical...

Yeah... about that.

[hepcat]

If execs at EMI or whomever his publishers were were enablers that looked the other way or actively covered up MJs sexual predation of children, then I say those companis should be shut down and not by music industry peers or ASCAAP or the RIAA or anything, but rather by the legal system but that's my opinion. Oddly enough I seem to take that with a bit more "burn them to the ground" attitude then I take the Penn State football program, probably because decisions made here affect so much more than just the actual football program.

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized. And a "burn them to the ground" attitude is equally unjust when discussing the music biz. There are a lot of folks under that umbrella that are completely innocent.

[LordMortis]

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized.

I don't think anyone is saying the Football Industry (or perhaps college industry) as a whole should be punished, though.

[ImLawBoy]

I really dont see how they cant give the football program a serious death penalty. Whether through NCAA, Penn. lawmakers, or the University. I mean not just a death penalty of 3-5 years. Something big, something that will stick in the collective conscious of not only the locals but nationwide. I'm talking in the range of 15-20 years. A stark reminder that child abuse WILL NEVER be tolerated. The ban has to be generational in scope.

So that next time someone, somewhere in this country comes across a situation like this will make the right choice. So that they wont think they can hide it. Hopefully they will make the right choice because it is the right choice but at least one of the arguments running in their mind will at least be: "if i dont do the right thing, my University will have their program nuked to the ground."

What will that do for anything that has already been covered up, though? What will be the incentive to come forward if there is something out there? You know your program will be crushed if you do it, so you might as well try to continue the cover-up.

The bigger concern, of course, if preventing any new instances of something like this happening. It's likely to be rare, but not impossible given what we've seen here (and to a much lesser extent, at Syracuse). Will the death penalty, or threat of a death penalty, be any more persuasive than the court of public opinion, the civil court judgments that are likely forthcoming, and the criminal court prosecutions that seem inevitable at this point? You have to weigh the increased incentive to those actors in power from the death penalty (which I would argue is not that great) against the potential damage that this does to those who had no part in the wrongdoing, including people who rely on the PSU football program for their livelihood, either directly or indirectly. I'm not sure that weighs in favor of the death penalty.

I'm curious, if Penn State doesn't give the program the death penalty and the NCAA doesn't give the program the death penalty, do other teams have the right to shun Penn State? To simply say "We won't play them." I'm not saying they should or shouldn't. (though I believe PSU itself would best be served PR wise to shut the program down)

I doubt the Big Ten schools could shun them, although non-conference schools could always not schedule them. Not sure how it would work for postseason - they're probably contractually bound to play, and would pay a steep price for breaking those contracts.

I wonder how Paterno's family is going to respond to the Freeh report. They've been quiet since it was released...and this was after a flurry of interviews in which they essentially kept saying the report would exonerate him.

I also wonder what kind of rallies and outbursts we'll see from the hardcore Paterno supporters who've been behind him every step of the way.

They have issued a preliminary statement on the report.

As much as I want to say that this case has nothing to do with football, as much as I want to focus on the crimes and criminals that are responsible, at the end of the day this case is about college football. It is about the desire for success in college football being so great as to allow a coach to become more powerful than the very people whose job it is to run the university. It is about the millions* of people who so want to have the title, whatever the title and trophy will be this year. It's about the millions who want to cheer for something that they are a part of, and something that is a part of them. It is about these people bestowing god-like qualities on the people who can deliver the title. It is about those who reach the heights of god-hood abusing the power that they are given.

Penn St. alumni and fans are responsible for giving Paterno the adoration and power that he had. As such they should bear some of the brunt of his punishment. Their punishment should be the loss of that which they hold most dear -- the football program and a chance at the title. This is a harsh statement, and one that would have me in fear of my own safety in some parts of the country.

I'm going to double-down. I think that all of us who love college football share a bit of the same responsibility as the Penn St. fans and alums. The fans of Penn St. wouldn't care so much about their college football team if the rest of us didn't care so much about college football. All of us who like college football elevate the sport and its organizations to a pedestal that we are willing to turn a blind eye to the behavior of its participants so long as we can all collectively chase the title. We overlook cheating, drug use, petty and not so petty crime by players and coaches. We accept that scholarships are given to people who haven't earned their way into a given school, and in some cases shouldn't be anywhere near a college campus. When these people are caught, we get caught up in the charade that is an NCAA investigation. This is the environment that creates the "Joe Paternos".

In my view the only real punishment that will do any good is to give college football, all of college football, the death penalty for about five to ten years. Maybe all of us can then put this sport back in its rightful place... as a fucking sport, and nothing but a sport!



* I'm guessing that a school as large as Penn St. has alumni and fans numbering in the millions.

This is more than a little bit overblown, IMO. I've never been a fan of punishing a large group for the transgressions of a few, and this is what it amounts to. The overwhelming majority of college football fans are sickened by what has happened, and the good that can come of this is that we're likely to see fewer "Joe Paternos" with the same type of clout over an entire institution. Combine that with what fell out at Ohio State (where president Gordon Gee stupidly joked that he wouldn't fire Jim Tressel - he only hoped Tressel wouldn't fire him), and there is going to be much less tolerance for coaches as de facto deans of universities.

[ImLawBoy]

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized.

I don't think anyone is saying the Football Industry (or perhaps college industry) as a whole should be punished, though.

RLMullen did state that.

[hepcat]

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized.

I don't think anyone is saying the Football Industry (or perhaps college industry) as a whole should be punished, though.

RLMullen was.

edit: DAMN YOU AND YOUR SUPER POWERED TYPING FINGERS, LAWNBOY!

p.s. thanks for the paterno family response link.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized.

I don't think anyone is saying the Football Industry (or perhaps college industry) as a whole should be punished, though.

In this [poor*] analogy, Penn State is Michael Jackson not Sony or the music industry.

The removal of Penn State football from NCAA competition won't shut down NCAA Football.


*AFAIK, Jackson was never proven (in a court of law) to molest children and even the accusations against him never rose to the level of what Sandusky actually did. Jackson also paid out multiple settlements. He "got away with what he did" because he was incredibly wealthy.


Like I said before in this thread, PSU football should be burned to the ground. For the benefit of Penn State Football as much as anything else. This is kind of an unsurvivable event for the program and the sooner the university realizes this, the sooner they can kill it and start a new one.

[hepcat]

I wonder if PSU football isn't so damaged now though, that if they start a new program the stain of what's happened won't just follow? At least in the court of public opinion? Can they ever recover?

[LawBeefaroni]

I wonder if PSU football isn't so damaged now though, that if they start a new program the stain of what's happened won't just follow? At least in the court of public opinion? Can they ever recover?

It is a huge step in the court of public opinion. Take Paterno off the mural, remove the statue, take down the portraits of the regents, Curley, etc...

BTW, I'm not demanding they do any of these things, I'm just thinking it would be in their own best interest.

[hepcat]

I don't believe Paterno's legacy is as big an offering as you think. Granted, I agree 100 percent that he should be stricken from the records and the ground salted over where he's concerned, but I believe that public scorn and condemnation has been casting a wider net for a while now (and rightfully so).

[RLMullen]

I don't think anyone would criticize shutting down the companies that knowingly looked away in the matter of a child molester in order to protect their bottom line. PLW's point is that the music industry on the whole shouldn't be penalized.

I don't think anyone is saying the Football Industry (or perhaps college industry) as a whole should be punished, though.

RLMullen was.

edit: DAMN YOU AND YOUR SUPER POWERED TYPING FINGERS, LAWNBOY!

p.s. thanks for the paterno family response link.

I did!!!

DAMN! THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR GOING INTO A MEETING IMMEDIATELY AFTER HITTING "SUBMIT"

[RLMullen]

This is more than a little bit overblown, IMO.

Yes it is. When I double-down, I go big! My suggestion is intended as a thought exercise for those of us who love college football.

I've never been a fan of punishing a large group for the transgressions of a few, and this is what it amounts to.

No, you are wrong here. My suggestion wasn't to punish all of college football for the crimes comitted by Sanduskey, Paterno, Spanier, and Curely. My suggestion was to punish all of college football for giving these men such power that they thought covering up these heinous crimes was the right thing to do.

The overwhelming majority of college football fans are sickened by what has happened, and the good that can come of this is that we're likely to see fewer "Joe Paternos" with the same type of clout over an entire institution. Combine that with what fell out at Ohio State (where president Gordon Gee stupidly joked that he wouldn't fire Jim Tressel - he only hoped Tressel wouldn't fire him), and there is going to be much less tolerance for coaches as de facto deans of universities.

I hope you are right, but my inner cynic thinks it is wasted hope.

[Smoove_B]

Deadspin is going over the report and linking their findings -- here are their headings:

Joe Paterno Knew In 1998
Paterno Gave Jerry Sandusky The Option To Keep Coaching "As Long As He Was The Coach"
Paterno Family Statement Blames Everyone But Joe Paterno, Who Is To Blame
In 1998, Jerry Sandusky Told State Officials And University Police That "He Had Done This With Other Children In The Past"
Janitors Didn't Report Jerry Sandusky's 2000 Rape Incident Because They Feared Joe Paterno Would Fire Them
In 1998, Buying $400 Worth Of Clothes For A Player Got You Banned From Penn State. Being Investigated For Child Sexual Assault Did Not.
The Second Mile Took No Action After Being Informed Of Sandusky's 2001 Shower Incident
Report: TVs At Penn State's Student Center Were Switched Away From Live Coverage Of The Freeh Report's Release
Freeh Report: Detective Alludes To Penn State Administrators' Habit Of Interfering With Investigations
ESPN Trots Out Matt Millen To Fumble His Way Through The Freeh Report
Nike Strips Joe Paterno's Name From Its Child Care Center

[hepcat]

Paterno Family Statement Blames Everyone But Joe Paterno, Who Is To Blame

Yeah, the Paterno family statement linked to earlier was full of guilt transference and outright lies.

My favorite line is "To think, however, that he would have protected Jerry Sandusky to avoid bad publicity is simply not realistic."

Too bad the report proves otherwise.

I can understand not wanting to accept that someone you love was a self serving ego maniac, but don't deny proof to that effect when it's shoved under your nose. Just shut up and let it go.

[ImLawBoy]

I've never been a fan of punishing a large group for the transgressions of a few, and this is what it amounts to.

No, you are wrong here. My suggestion wasn't to punish all of college football for the crimes comitted by Sanduskey, Paterno, Spanier, and Curely. My suggestion was to punish all of college football for giving these men such power that they thought covering up these heinous crimes was the right thing to do.

No, I'm right. I never gave these people that power, although I am an avid college football fan. I truly believe that most college football fans believe that the football program should not run roughshod over their universities (although maybe that opinion is a little stronger in those of us who attended the universities as opposed to those who are just fans of a program, and thus have less investment in the academic side of the university). I'm a fan of the University of Michigan, and as much as I want to see us win, I don't ever want to see Brady Hoke able to cirumvent the rules or sully the reputation of the university with his actions. Does that mean I don't agree with lower academic standards for some student-athletes? No, but each student should be looked at individually determine whether he or she belongs at a school. Grades aren't the only thing that determine whether someone should get admitted to a school (else I wouldn't have been rejected from colleges where my GPA and test scores were well above the average). Student-athletes can bring other attributes to a university, and the university can help those student-athletes in other ways, too. I've gone kind of far afield, though.

Back on topic, shutting down all of college football would in fact be punishing those without fault for the transgressions of a few. I don't accept your premise that all college football fans share blame for the PSU situation.

[LawBeefaroni]

I don't believe Paterno's legacy is as big an offering as you think. Granted, I agree 100 percent that he should be stricken from the records and the ground salted over where he's concerned, but I believe that public scorn and condemnation has been casting a wider net for a while now (and rightfully so).

That's why I'm saying they should burn the whole program down.

[hepcat]

I think our discussion diverged at one point into two different subjects.

[Lorini]

I don't think the whole football program should be burned down. One good thing that will come of this is that there will (hopefully) be a further scrutinizing within other major Div I football programs to be sure that this kind of thing can't happen to them. I really hope that PSU can create a culture where anyone and everyone can report on potential crimes without feeling as if they will lose their jobs like those janitors felt.

Speaking of the janitors, do you guys think they were at least morally culpable because of what the janitor saw and didn't report? Or do you think that they were right to be afraid of losing their jobs if they said something, and particularly in this economy jobs are hard to get. It's unfortunate that they didn't know that they couldn't be fired for whistleblowing, perhaps that's something PSU and other universities need to make clear to employees.

[hepcat]

That's actually a good point. I hadn't even thought of that. How much blame (if any) should be laid at the feet of the janitors if they knew these atrocities were happening yet did nothing for fear of being terminated? I still maintain that Paterno, being in a position of power...to the point that the old adage "the buck stops here" was probably quite true, was certainly guilty of a crime; but I wonder how the law will view the janitors mentioned in the article?

[RLMullen]

One good thing that will come of this is that there will (hopefully) be a further scrutinizing within other major Div I football programs to be sure that this kind of thing can't happen to them.

Does this mean that they'll add transparency or do a better job of covering their tracks. The cynic in me says the latter.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/19571969/institutional-control-report-shows-tragic-result-of-coach-as-king-culture

Many people have tried to make the argument for weeks that the NCAA needs to stay out of this matter, that it's bigger than the NCAA, but it shouldn't be. The culture of the Coach as King of the University has existed for years. Penn State certainly isn't the only school that got caught up in it. Joe Paterno was just the biggest, latest example of it. But you think after a scandal of this magnitude, those days might be over in college sports? Really? As coaching salaries skyrocket and dwarf those of the faculty members around them by larger and larger margins while TV contracts yield billions, the clout and import of these men actually swells. I know of several instances where compliance people know better than to tangle with certain head football coaches. Those Penn State janitors aren't the only ones who think that if they come up against a powerful coach, they'll lose.

In an era of bigger and bigger and bigger college football, I think we've already lost perspective. Are they schools, or sports franchieses? In the case of the mega-schools located in podunk towns, they become fiefdoms.

[Sarkus]

The NCAA and college sports in general needs to come up with a way of dealing with "coach as king" stuff, but that is a much bigger problem that won't be solved by sanctioning Penn State football. It would require the NCAA to have more power then it does and/or uniiversity presidents and boards having more guts then they do. Though we have seen evidence in recent years that the coaches don't always get away with everything, if you consider stuff like Petrino and some other examples.

[hepcat]

But the institution of football at Penn State WAS fundamentally broken as evidenced by the fact that these men were able to bypass university procedures and standards while working under its cover. I think it's fair that it be taken apart (at least temporarily) in order to let wounds heal and to find ways to put it back together again in such a way that this (this being the blatant disregard for anything but the business of football) doesn't happen again...or at least is far less likely to. I don't believe it should be dismantled permanently, but a time out is perfectly reasonably.

[EvilHomer3k]

I've never been a fan of punishing a large group for the transgressions of a few, and this is what it amounts to.

No, you are wrong here. My suggestion wasn't to punish all of college football for the crimes comitted by Sanduskey, Paterno, Spanier, and Curely. My suggestion was to punish all of college football for giving these men such power that they thought covering up these heinous crimes was the right thing to do.

No, I'm right. I never gave these people that power, although I am an avid college football fan. I truly believe that most college football fans believe that the football program should not run roughshod over their universities (although maybe that opinion is a little stronger in those of us who attended the universities as opposed to those who are just fans of a program, and thus have less investment in the academic side of the university). I'm a fan of the University of Michigan, and as much as I want to see us win, I don't ever want to see Brady Hoke able to cirumvent the rules or sully the reputation of the university with his actions. Does that mean I don't agree with lower academic standards for some student-athletes? No, but each student should be looked at individually determine whether he or she belongs at a school. Grades aren't the only thing that determine whether someone should get admitted to a school (else I wouldn't have been rejected from colleges where my GPA and test scores were well above the average). Student-athletes can bring other attributes to a university, and the university can help those student-athletes in other ways, too. I've gone kind of far afield, though.

Back on topic, shutting down all of college football would in fact be punishing those without fault for the transgressions of a few. I don't accept your premise that all college football fans share blame for the PSU situation.

Perhaps you, as an individual did not give them this power. A single individual doesn't have that power to give. We, as a group, do. Is the simple act of participating in the machine enough to give someone like Paterno that power? Certainly the length and success of his career has some affect on how much power he had.

In some ways we give coaches power simply by being part of the machine. We take that power back by not being part of the machine or by voicing our concerns. Most peoples concerns seem to be about winning. I'd be curious to know how many emails/calls a program gets that are related to winning vs the starting tailback (or coach) getting into trouble.

We gave them power by showing up on Saturday. We gave them that power by stressing wins and not stressing morality. If it weren't for us watching the games they wouldn't have the power to sweep something as big as this under the rug for such a long time. The bigger the audience the more power they have. I think that is what RL is trying to say.

[hepcat]

But we give them that power with the sincere belief that it's being done so strictly for the sake of harmless entertainment. As I said earlier, if we were to blame to the extent that you seem to believe, we would've found a way to brush this whole thing under the rug as a group, as opposed to previously when it was a small group of men who did so because they were afraid of losing out on money or tarnishing their legacies.

If we were to assume that the simple act of being a fan of someone automatically implicates you in every misstep committed by that person or group...well, I think you can see where I'm going with that analogy.

[ImLawBoy]

We gave them that power by stressing wins and not stressing morality.

Not to boil everything you said down to one sentence, but this is my biggest point of disagreement. I never stressed wins over morality. I doubt that most college football fans would do so (regardless of who makes the most noise when sending e-mails to administrations). Punishing me (and all of those football fans who want good, clean fun) for the acts of the PSU four (and perhaps those few PSU fans who would have been OK with looking the other way for child rapes if it meant a better bowl game) is a gross overreaction.

Look, I know what RLMullen is trying to say about how everyone who lets college football get this big has some responsibility for this situation. I just don't believe it for a second.

[Lorini]

I don't agree either. We know there are some college PSU fans out there who want to absolve Paterno of any blame in this, but I think most college football fans don't sign up for supporting child abuse.

[triggercut]

In my view the only real punishment that will do any good is to give college football, all of college football, the death penalty for about five to ten years. Maybe all of us can then put this sport back in its rightful place... as a fucking sport, and nothing but a sport!

Guessing that the lines were full at your usual call-in radio show where that kind of kneejerk vapidity goes over well?

[noxiousdog]

In my view the only real punishment that will do any good is to give college football, all of college football, the death penalty for about five to ten years. Maybe all of us can then put this sport back in its rightful place... as a fucking sport, and nothing but a sport!

Guessing that the lines were full at your usual call-in radio show where that kind of kneejerk vapidity goes over well?

I would actually agree with RLMullen if I thought it would have the intended effect. But it won't. We'll go back to stressing wins over sportsmanship. Every time a Saban, Patrino, Meyer, or Knight is hired, we're fostering a culture where this stuff can occur. And, maybe it's the cynic in me, but I'm guessing that your average high-level coach is more like those guys and less like a good citizen, and I don't ever see it changing. It's the nature of the beast and it's human nature to want the successful program.