Wonderful news- Penn State gets hit hard

by Wulaw Horn on Jul 23, 2025 9:54 AM CDT

I am extremely happy to see Penn State get hit with sanctions that should decimate their football program for the better part of a decade.

Summary

$60,000,000 fine (equivalent to average year of revenue for the football program) to go to nationwide (but not campus related) Sex Abuse cases.

Reduction in scholarships from 25/year to 15 a year for 4 years.

Vacating all victories from 1998-2011 (love the stain on Paterno's legacy becomes official)

4 year bowl ban

All PSU football players (maybe athletes) can transfer and be immediately eligible, and the school taking them in can go over 85 to accomodate them (provided they go under again the next year).

I called for them to commit to a voluntary death penalty themselves, and would have wanted the same for UT, but this works just as well, in that they will be also rans for a long time, and football should be in its proper place on campus now.

Also, in the form of a consent decree, so they are not going to litigate.

With removal of the statue, and agreeing to the consent decree, I finally have the feeling like the adults are in charge at PSU. Many of their trustee's had troubling comments (one calling the other presidents who allowed this punishment "pansies" ) that show they are below the character and standards that should reasonably be expected for ladies and gentlemen with such a positioni of power in a university setting, so I don't expect easy sledding for the adults now in charge in trying to change such a wretched culture.

The only thing I didn't see was TV ban for them, but the Big 10 weighs in at 11, they've said they don't want to duplicate punishment, so that certainly could be on the table.

I'd sort of welcome a television ban that allowed for airing the game on the local airwaves of their opponent, or in what would typically be described as that teams home market. I'd like to see the Big 10 give them the boot, but sources seem to indicate that was on the table, but not the route they are going to take.

I can't say it's a happy day for me to see Happy Valley get smacked down, because nothing from this is happy obviously, but it's gratifying to see them in a smoking ruin. I have no blame for PSU for Sandusky's actions up to 1998. Sometimes a guy on your staff is bad news (hello Cleve) and I don't hold institutions responsible for individual actions, but Joe Paterno and PSU bear culpability for everything that happened to every victim after they knew and turned a blind eye to the monster that was Sandusky, and I'm glad they will now pay. It's gratifying on some level, even though it will not erase the horror that happened. I hope that the victims now move toward having a bit of closure and healing of some very ugly wounds.

Be excellent to each other.

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let it burn

@ccommand3r

by CMDR on Jul 23, 2025 10:00 AM CDT reply actions

counterpoint

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/7/23/3176792/penn-state-ncaa-sanctions-punishment-reaction

by hydromod on Jul 23, 2025 10:26 AM CDT reply actions

wow, I could not disagree more

And I usually love that guy. I think he’s coming from the perspective that the NCAA is evil and corrupt and can do no right.

I don’t believe that to be the case. I think sometimes the NCAA shirks it’s responsibilities in overlooking rogue programs misdeeds, but I see real penalties at USC and tOSU and am glad for them. I think the NCAA is getting better, not worse, and applaud them for increasing punishments, even on the glamour programs, and the work they are doing to re-tool their rules and enforcement mechanisms.

I like where I see them headed (at least I think this is it)- Simplify rules, make them logical and easy to follow and kill anyone that steps out of line.

by Wulaw Horn on Jul 23, 2025 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions

B1G sanctions

For the record, B1G sanctions include they can’t play for a B1G championship for four years (That’s a tough one!) and their share of conference bowl participation money (About 13 million bucks) for the next four years is going to be given to organizations that work to protect the young in the B1G footprint.

Reference the counterpoint from Spencer Hall…who peed in his Cheerios today. The NCAA sanctions against Penn State were almost tough enough, and not, as Hall contends, desecrating Penn State’s corpse.

"Where is the church? Who took the steeple? Religion's in the hands of some crazy ass people!" (The gospel according to Jimmy Buffett)

by coolhorn on Jul 23, 2025 11:19 AM CDT reply actions

I’ve heard the argument that this just punishes the business in the area, some students and athletes, and doesn’t help the victims. I’ve read that this isn’t the same as recruiting violations because this isn’t going to tell the USCs, Alabamas, UTs, etc that they can’t do something like this because this was such a specific thing.

I disagree. First, the whole institution was rotten at the top, and you don’t let them get away with a crime because it may impact businesses/student/athletes in a trickle down effect. If that were the case, we’d never make any large company shut down or pay huge fines for large disasters (BP, for instance0>

Second, it does send a message that needs to be sent to all other schools. That message is that football should not run the school and be the key factor in decision making. The AD or football coach can’t be bigger than the school and everyone in the city.

by UT_BKC on Jul 23, 2025 11:55 AM CDT reply actions

Since we still have a vocal number of PSU fans playing victim

I don’t think the punishment is severe enough. PSU football needs to be neutered for a good long while. The entire culture needs to be purged. The root cause of was essentially that PSU football was “too big to fail” and people will do or say anything to ensure the sacred cow is protected.

Taking down statues and essentially making football meaningless for the next few years is a start I suppose.

My source close to the program can beat up your source close to the program!

by burrito on Jul 23, 2025 12:18 PM CDT reply actions

agreed completely

I got as mad at the stakeholders at PSU (trustees, admin and students) as just about anything, the more I read them quoted showing no remorse, contrition, or basic human decency or understanding of what happened and the ramifications. That’s why I’m so glad to see what they hold dear blown up and made a smoking crater for at least a decade. Serves those a-holes right. They should have been proactive in doing this themselves to demonstrate that they got it.

They didn’t, and I think most there never did get it. Maybe this will help them understand. There is so much shame to go around, from the janitors to the president, and the idiot trustee’s and students and alums continuing to fetishize JoPa and his statute, records and legacy are not helping.

by Wulaw Horn on Jul 23, 2025 12:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Agreed

But sadly, the tragedy, root causes and life-lesson learned will soon be forgotten — as remarkably as the deep wound from 9/11/2025 is fading from the memories of many Americans.

by Rio Lobo on Jul 26, 2025 10:26 AM CDT up reply actions