Now that Penn State has been sanctioned by the NCAA all of the people I follow on Twitter have become experts in all matters regarding the NCAA and the actions it took.
People are screaming "you don't know Penn State" or "if you didn't go to Penn State you don't know the Penn State culture". Nobody is claiming to know Penn State for God's sake. You don't have to know the culture to know that punishment was coming.
The sixty million dollar fine is a good start. The fine is going towards a fund for the victims. That's the right move. Penn State football is the third most profitable team in all of college sports. Fact. During the 2009/2010 season they generated 70 million dollars, of that 70 million, 50 million was straight profit.
That means that for one year Penn State football won't have a profit. Big deal.
Everyone seems to think that the NCAA is trying to punish current football players or current recruits. They don't want to do that, but they have to. Do any of you have better suggestions? Go back in time and punish the players who played while all this was occuring? Oh yeah, maybe while we're back in time we can encourage Joe Pa or any other of the higher ups to speak up.
Other sanctions include dropping from 85 scholarships to 65 starting in the 2014-2015 season. Boo hoo. Your team won't be as competitive. 65 scholarships is still enough to field two full offenses and defenses plus 21 left over for special teams positions. (You only need 3 kickers and 3 punters and 2 long snappers.) That means another 13 scholarships to fill any void.
No bowl games for four years, sorry but that doesn't hit me hard at all. I feel for all class of 2016 students who won't get to see Penn State play in a bowl game because that would be an experience unlike any other.
All wins being vacated from 1998 to 2011. How can that even affect the players? They know what they did or didn't do. They have their Big Ten Championship rings or various bowl rings. They can erase wins from paper but not from the mind. So for that one, who cares?
Joe Pa isn't the most winning coach in the record books but he will be for those who care to remember him as that.
Sadly too many people remember him as only that.
But it isn't about football you ignorant sons of bitches.
It's about a school.
Scholarship losses mean that certain players will give up their scholarships. The immediate loss of 10 scholarships will affect some players. You know what's great though? 10 players could easily step forward and stop playing football at Penn State. If they give up their football scholarhip they can still go to school for free and get an education. I would expect those ten to be players who know they aren't going to make it to the NFL. Practice squad guys who were having their heads beat in. Hell, give up your scholarship and then walk back on if it means that much to you. The NCAA got rid of the scholarships but the kids who are already there still get their education for free.
Isn't that what college is supposed to be about, getting an education?
The last thing that grinds my gears in people who say "my school" referring to Penn State when they haven't gone there, they aren't going there, and no one in their family went there.
Sorry, but that isn't your school buddy. You don't know it just like I don't know it. Harvard isn't my school just because I like the idea of it. Idiots.
I don't know the culture, I don't want to see students and players hurt by sanctions, I respect Penn State as a university, and I don't know what it'll be like for students next year. But i'm not claiming to. Go to Penn State to get an education. Go there because it's a family tradition. Go there because you truly want to. I can't denounce anyone who does. I'd fight for my school the same way, but my school is Fordham. And I'm not claiming it is anywhere else.
I feel like we share the same brain sometimes. It's a scary thought
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you agree with me my friend. I don't hate the school by any means. Sanctions were needed. I would have left scholarships alone and doubled the fine to be perfectly honest. But I don't work for the NCAA so I'm not going to pretend like I know what's best.
DeleteWhat frustrated me is that the punishments did not punish those involved. Yes the university had to be fined so a larger fine would have made sense to me. Taking away wins, a post season for 4 years, and scholarships really are only hurting the football program where not one person from the scandal are involved in PSU now. I understand that bowl games are serious money makers but giving a larger fine punishes the university that did wrong and allows the player who were not involved still have a chance to play in a bowl game.
ReplyDeleteWhat frustrated me is that the punishments did not punish those involved. Yes the university had to be fined so a larger fine would have made sense to me. Taking away wins, a post season for 4 years, and scholarships really are only hurting the football program where not one person from the scandal are involved in PSU now. I understand that bowl games are serious money makers but giving a larger fine punishes the university that did wrong and allows the player who were not involved still have a chance to play in a bowl game.
ReplyDeleteI agree to an extent. I think it sucks for incoming freshman who will never see a bowl game or championship as a student. If players care enough about playing in a bowl game they're free to transfer and not lose eligibility. My uncle proposed an idea that I think would affect the university more. He proposed an initial fine like the 60 million. He also said that every year they should take 50% of the football team's profit for 10 years and out that into a fund like the initial 60 million. By keeping money coming for years to come it allows people to remember who it's really for. It's for the victims and a one time fine will be forgotten next year when they start making money again.
ReplyDelete