Giving the ‘Death Penalty’ to Penn State’s Football Program
The shocking sexual abuse trial of former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky has rocked not only the world of college football, but also the nation as a whole.
Sandusky has been found guilty of 45 counts of child molestation, many of them taking place on or near Penn State University. He met all of his young male victims through The Second Mile, a program he founded to help troubled youths. Sandusky is currently in prison awaiting his sentencing. It’s safe to say that Jerry Sandusky will live the rest of his pitiful excuse for a life in a state prison, never again setting foot in the outside world as a free man.
As far as Sandusky, it’s case closed. He’s been convicted and it’s up to the state of Pennsylvania to handle his sentencing and punishment.
Former Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno served over Sandusky for thirty-one seasons from 1969 to 1999. Paterno had known about Sandusky’s sexual attacks against young boys. Paterno, more interested in protecting his image along with the images of the university and its football program, chose to look the other way. Joe Paterno informed his superiors of Sandusky’s actions, but he failed to pursue any legal action against Sandusky or seek help for his victims. Thanks to today’s society of worshipping athletes and athletic programs, those cries for help fell upon deaf ears.
Joe Paterno was fired as Penn State University head football coach on November 9, 2011. Many students and football fans in Happy Valley, PA rioted when the news was announced. Later, Penn State players were crying that they missed the presence of their idolized head coach.
Joe Paterno died from lung cancer on January 22, 2012. There’s little doubt that the sudden imploding of his once-prestigious legacy at Penn State likely accelerated his health’s deterioration. As far as Paterno, his case is also closed. It’s just a little bit disturbing that his family is still collecting a small fortune from Paterno’s previous contract. If the Paterno family wanted to keep any shred of dignity left inside of them, they should donate ALL of that remaining contract money to charities helping troubled youths.
So what’s going to happen next for the Penn State football program and the rest of the people involved with Jerry Sandusky’s infamous legacy?
As each week goes by, it seems like there’s more and more news bringing new details to the alleged cover-up of Sandusky’s evil crimes. I’d like to believe that the FBI and law enforcement officers are investigating everybody who was involved with Sandusky, whether they allegedly participated in the cover-up or tried to seek help for the victims. Hopefully more people will go to trial and also get convicted like Jerry Sandusky.
I’d love to see Sandusky’s wife, Dottie, go to trail for assisting her husband. It’s very hard to believe that she’s completely innocent of knowing what Jerry Sandusky was doing to those boys for all of those years, especially when some of the attacks took place in their own home. As we know, wives tend to have a sixth sense to detect when their husbands are lying or up to no good, even if it takes place on the other side of the world.
I’m in favor of the NCAA using the “death penalty” against the Penn State football program.
The Penn State football program should be forced to cease all activities and disband itself for at least two to four years. All of the football players should be allowed to transfer and play immediately without the normal one-year waiting period. And to effectively clean house, the entire football coaching staff needs to be fired. The firings should also include upper-level school administrators who were involved in the Sandusky cover-up.
Penn State needs to bring in fresh faces and new blood to remove the tarnish of Jerry Sandusky.
It’s not like Sandusky attacked some boys and was promptly turned over to the cops. We’re talking about YEARS of cover-up here that involved many people at the university, including former head coach Joe Paterno. The NCAA needs to take a hard stand against Penn State. Unfortunately to the innocent workers, players, fans, and all of the revenue generated from the football program, this means stopping the football program for at least a few seasons. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated at ANY program or university. Period.
It’s no surprise that Jerry Sandusky’s and Joe Paterno’s names are being removed from everything that was associated with or idolized by them. It’s rather pleasant seeing those two being ripped from the pages of sports history. Unfortunately, this doesn’t do much justice to the victims of Sandusky’s crimes. At least it’s a step in the right direction.
And then there’s the talk of whether Penn State should remove the Joe Paterno statue outside of the football stadium. This is easy. Rip it down. Put some chains around it and yank it from the concrete. Joe Paterno only cared about his football record. He showed no concern or remorse for the young victims of Jerry Sandusky. Leaving Paterno’s statue in place is an insult to not only Sandusky’s victims, but the countless number of child molesting victims around the world. The Joe Paterno statue reminds people that it’s okay to do whatever it takes to WIN regardless of the victims or crimes that you commit. That very statue needs to be destroyed.
If anything, Penn State should leave the showers and locker rooms untouched as a memorial to Sandusky’s victims. Build new facilities for the players, but leave the old showers in place to remind people of the evil of Jerry Sandusky’s ways and the massive cover-up by Pennsylvania State University.