Not so Happy Valley

So after a mini-rant to Price, I decided to make my second appearance as a guest writer for his blog.  While I usually comment on a random story I find online, the story about Happy Valley, (what’s the definition of irony?), has me on my soap box – one that you’ll likely want to punt across the room when I’m done.  This isn’t a breakdown of the case or the evidence presented, but simply my immediate reaction to the sanctions issued by the NCAA. Surprisingly enough the aftermath actually has me believing the NCAA did something right.  Allow me to be very clear for all the Pennsylvanian’s in the audience… THIS ISN’T A BREAKDOWN OF THE CASE JUST MY REACTION TO THE NCAA.

I’ve been following this story for some time now and will admit that at first glance, before the Freeh report, trials, and interviews – I felt sympathy for Joe Paterno.  A man that has meant so much to college football and has been the face of a UNIVERSITY, let alone a football program, gave 70% of his life, (61 years at Penn State), and now has had his legacy tarnished because of the actions of another.  Then as the layers of the story were slowly peeled back regarding the child abuse and the subsequent blind eye turned by those in power at Penn State, any sympathy that was felt for old JoePa went out the window.

On July 23^rd the NCAA ruled that PSU will have to pay 60 million dollars in fines (equivalent to the amount of annual revenue brought in by the football program), to be paid over a 4 year period, face a 4 year postseason ban, (and let’s be serious – it’ll be longer than that with the huge stain on the program and university), and vacate all wins since 1998, totaling 112.  Along with these sanctions, football scholarships are being stripped over a 4 year period which will ultimately cap the PSU program at 65 scholarships. 

This is usually not the case with the NCAA but…

I think they actually got this one right.

While there will eventually come a time when the words “college football”, “Penn State University”, and  “scandal” aren’t inexorably linked; it will always be something woven into the fabric of the NCAA.  Think about it this way, remember when you were a kid and you spilled grape juice on the couch knowing damn well your mom told you not to have drinks in the family room? What did you do? I was crafty and I just flipped the couch cushion… No-one ever saw the stain.  It didn’t fix the problem, but it definitely kept my mom from wanting to go upside my head.  The NCAA is flipping the proverbial couch cushion in order to try to move forward.

So by now that you’ve had ample time to stew you’re probably asking, “But Preston, what about current and former players? Aren’t they being punished for the crimes that they had no part in?” Of course they are receiving the backlash.  When sweeping change needs to be made there are people who will be marginalized.  Take a look at the business world – poor leadership at C-level positions leads to companies going bankrupt or massive layoffs of people who did nothing but show up to work 5-days a week.  

The penalty levied by the NCAA is necessary.  The people who covered up these crimes were those in powerful positions at PSU, so the punishment must have real effect against the University.  The football program? Just happens to be where the cover up lied.  Poor leadership leads to ships being sunk.  Jerry Sandusky, JoePa, Graham Spanier (University President), Tim Curley (AD), and Gary Schultz (University VP) are the ones responsible for putting a football program above all else and now the university is paying for it.

Current players have the freedom to leave – without penalty to their eligibility – to continue their college football careers elsewhere.  Former players will miss out on 112 total wins.  While those are no longer recognized by the NCAA, players know about the milestones they accomplished on the field.  College is a major 4 years of your life, but it should not make your life.  The vast majority of players, (most of us go pro in something other than sports, right?) move onto much greater things – professionally, academically, in relationships, etc – and don’t base their lives on events between the ages of 18-22 [with that being said I feel deeply for those like Adam Taliaffero – who was paralyzed – no longer has his final victory recognized as it is something he has a reminder of everyday].  Vacating these wins was intended to strip JoePa of the title of all-time NCAA wins leader and rightfully so.  Just as his statue was removed, his name should also be removed from the top of the record books.  His once legendary name, which used to conjure up memories of his on field achievements, the ageless JoePa jogging out in Happy Valley with men young enough to be his great grandchildren loyally in tow, is now infamously synonymous with scandal and child abuse. 

Penn State has suffered a devastating fall from the summit of college football.  What was once a traditional NCAA powerhouse, one of the most prestigious programs of all-time wrought with tradition of honor and toughness, is now a poster child for a defunct leadership and indefensible criminal activity.  With hard falls, come many casualties.  But remember that this was caused by the leadership of Penn State putting a football program before the reputation of the university and the safety of young boys over the span of 15 years. No penalty can be strong enough to reverse the damage done to these kids, but at least the NCAA did right in punishing the university.  Maybe next time in a situation like this the “leadership” will think twice before putting their cash cow before the safety of a child.