The Tragedy of Penn State

As both a guy who follows college sports and a human being who has a soul, its hard not to have an opinion on the debacle that has become Penn State football.

Both of my degrees are from the University of Connecticut (i.e. the Mecca of college basketball) so its fair to say I've never really cared all that much about the goings on in "Happy Valley". They played in a different conference, excelled in a different sport, and (gratuitous self-affirmation notwithstanding) hadn't won a national championship in that sport since Ronald Reagan was president. To me, there was really no difference between Penn State and the University of Hawaii.

Jerry Sandusky & Joe Paterno

Everything changed last fall, though, when the state of Pennsylvania finally slapped the cuffs on Jerry Sandusky.

After a three-year investigation, Sandusky, an assistant football coach and top lieutenant of Penn State legend Joe Paterno, was charged with forty-eight - FORTY-EIGHT! - counts of sexual abuse, most of which centered around young boys. Within days, the Penn State trustees (in a rare show of leadership) ceremoniously fired both Paterno and University President Graham Spanier, and they hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh to investigate further. Freeh's report, which was released a few weeks ago, was both shocking and scathing.

"Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State," Freeh wrote. "Messrs. Spanier, (Gary) Schultz, Paterno and (Tim) Curley never demonstrated, through actions or words, any concern for the safety and well-being of Sandusky's victims until after Sandusky's arrest."

Its not just disgusting, its disturbing. And "disturbing" is perhaps the nicest word I (or anyone else) could use to describe the culture that was allowed to permeate Penn State, its football program and its community.

Former Penn State VP Vicky Triponey

One of the names that keep creeping up in all of these Penn State stories is Vicky Triponey, the school's former Vice President for Student Affairs who was fired in 2007 for (and I'm using editorial license here) having the gall to stand-up to Paterno. I knew Vicky when she held a similar position at UConn; knew her well, in fact. We did a lot of work together my senior year and I was genuinely disappointed when she left us for Penn State. On the day after Freeh's report was issued, Vicky was quoted in USA Today as saying "Penn State became... too big to fail. It wasn't just that we can't have bad press. It was, we have to protect this image that we're perfect."

Like lemmings, people followed Joe Paterno and the brand he had cultivated. Even after Sandusky was arrested and Paterno fired, thousands of Penn State alumni and students took to the streets to protest the nerve of the school's trustees to even question - let alone terminate - the ultimate authority of the Almighty "Joe Pa". This culture - this cult-like way of thinking - has lead to what, in my mind, is the biggest issue at hand: the lack of focus on or sympathy for the victims.

New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica, whose views on sports, politics and life are almost identical to mine, said it best: "These are the men who did not hear the cries of children... they told themselves they were protecting a school and a football program and protected a monster in their midst instead." A monster. Sandusky was a monster. A monster who permanently scarred the lives of countless young boys. The students and alumni who took to the streets to protest the firing of their beloved "Joe Pa" should most certainly keep that in mind.

To cast a pox upon all of Penn State and everyone who has ever had any affiliation with the university is both unfortunate and wrong. In the wake of this scandal, a group of Penn State alumni have created a website to raise money for the victims and survivors of sexual abuse. They state they are "embarrassed and shocked by the recent events at Penn State" and that they want to "stand up for the victims of abuse."

Thank God somebody still has a moral compass!

Joe Paterno died of lung cancer in January. Graham Spanier, Gary Schultz, Tim Curley and Lord knows how many others will almost certainly face criminal charges. And Jerry Sandusky, who was found guilty on 45 of the 48 counts against him, will spent the rest of his natural life in prison before rotting his afterlife away in hell.

Students and alumni holding vigil at the Paterno statue.

Still being debated on sports pages and talk shows across the country is what Mark Emmert and the NCAA should do with Penn State football. My two-cents: whack-it. Let every existing Penn State football player transfer immediately, penalty-free - and then cancel both the 2012 and 2013 seasons, essentially forcing the university to start from scratch. This isn't accepting plane tickets or selling memorabilia on eBay - this is a crime, a felony. Multiple felonies... at the highest levels of the athletic program and the university. They deserve the harshest penalty the NCAA has ever issued.

And as for the famed Paterno statue: I say melt it. Then sell the bronze and donate the proceeds to RAINN.org. It would be a good first step down what promises to be a long, long road of healing and recovery.