Rockne's Roundtable

Can someone give me a rational explanation on the difference between how the NCAA will handle the PSU situation vs Miami/OSU/USC? In the PSU situation you have a coach and school officials who are aware of criminal allegations against a coach. They decide not to report said allegations to, in my mind, protect the program against negative publicity.

I understand the other universities had players receiving benefits, which is prohibited by the NCAA. But surely a coverup by a coach and school officials to "protect the program" is far more heinous than players receiving tattoos for jerseys....right?

I guess im confused because I keep hearing people say "dont punish the university and players for something that a few people did wrong". My response is, why was USC's program (or Ohio State and soon to be Miami) punished for Reggie Bush and OJ Mayo's poor decisions?

Anyway, figured you guys are all smart on here and could give me a good explanation.

There will be behind-the-scenes politics, here. There always is. I can't predict what the NCAA will do, but here's where I'd hang my hat on it. Some of Sandusky's crimes were committed in Penn St. facilities. His access to these were not denied after officials were aware of his behavior. He remained a respected and revered figure in the community because of his status as a former coach. These were connections to the university, the athletic department and the football team that not only allowed him to continue his criminal and exploitive behavior, but enhanced it. All of this was done with full knowledge of the highest ranked officials in the university, athletic department and football program. Their silence was prompted because of their concern about the negative repercussions it would have on the football program.

College football has taken on a disproportionately large role on campuses, and in society, for that matter. When it has grown so large that educators and coaches charged with overseeing the welfare of young people choose to ignore one of the most heinous kinds of crimes that can victimize young people, we have truly gone off the rails. There needs to be repercussions, not just to the individuals. That's obvious. But, also to the institution. Penn St. officials allowed this to go on so that they could conduct, and profit by, business as usual in the football program. A message needs to be sent, and it needs to be loud and clear. You don't get to enjoy the privilege of making millions of dollars by ignoring criminal behavior of the worst kind. It's a privilege, not a right. If the NCAA by-laws do not give it the jurisdiction to intercede in this matter, they need to be changed. If they don't act, then the sport itself is left in the embarrassing position of having to answer the question, so what else can university officials do or fail to do if it is in the best interest of their football program? You cannot have this as a precedent.

In my opinion, anyone who can think for themselves and has just a bit of a brain knows PSU covered this up to save the football program. If this was in their accounting program, the professor would have been turned in the moment they knew something.

So, if PSU covered up something that would have negatively impacted their program, then they gained a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage does not just mean cheating to get better players.

I think sports in general has crossed the line of no morality years ago. It just keeps getting worse and worse. We now have a respected University allowing boys to be abused so their football program can keep its reputation and be competitive. This is a time to let everyone know, sports has gotten too big.