Punishment Leveled

Two weeks ago, the Freeh Report detailed the failings of the adults responsible for football and academic life at Penn State University. It was a startling, stark finding that forever tarnished the reputation of the school, coach Joe Paterno, and all those who were found irresponsible in safeguarding the lives and well-being of young children.

On Monday, the world watched at the NCAA handed out its punishment for the school. Most believed it would be severe and historic in its severity, and it was. It also struck me as profoundly unfair.

Let me be clear — this scandal has brought deserved shame on those involved and the school. What happened, and what was allowed to happen, is unacceptable on every level. Those involved, and the school, deserve to be punished. But there is a level of punishment here that hurts a group of people that had no role in this tragedy, and that is a tragic turn of events.

I'm talking, of course, about the current players. The school was fined $60 million. That's fine. Paterno had wins vacated from his record from 1998-2011. That's fine. The people that ran the school and Paterno erred, and they were punished.

But then the NCAA put the school on probation for four years, cut scholarships, and banned the school from the post season and bowls. That's where I have a problem. The NCAA consistently fails in the fact it punishes current players for the sins of past players and adults who receive no penalties.

Consider USC. Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush are in the NFL, making millions. Yet the school was sanctioned and current players suffered for what they did. Where is the justice in that? At least those are penalties for infractions that have to do with the game itself.

The shame in the Penn State scandal is not an on-the-field issue. It does have to do with institutional control, and the institution should be punished. Those responsible should be punished. But why are current students being punished as well.

The NCAA has made a provision allowing all current players to transfer without penalty. That is nice, but it's a bit of a hollow gesture too. It's late July. The college season begins at the end of August. How many schools have openings to take new players? How many of these players could be in comparable positions having to learn a new playbook in a month? And how fair is it for juniors and seniors, who have deep-rooted ties and friendships forged over 2-4 years, to be asked to consider moving to finish out their careers?

College is a time when these athletes learn, grow, and, ideally, audition for the professional ranks. These students, who had no role or responsibility for what happened with Jerry Sandusky, are being punished right alongside the adults who should have known better. That's a shame.