Of course Paterno escaped justice in this life when he passed away in January — leaving behind a legacy of nothing but shame, shame, shame. But if there is a God, Paterno must be catching a hell of a lot of heat in the afterlife.
(“Paterno Engaged in Pedophile Cover-up,” The iPINIONS Journal, July 12, 2012)
Having already sentenced Paterno to eternal damnation in my commentary cited above, I was anxious to see if the NCAA would impose a commensurate sentence on Penn State.
Here is what I called for in this respect:
I think the NCAA should give the Nittany Lions the ‘death penalty’ (i.e., indefinite expulsion) — particularly because this child-sex abuse scandal makes all of the booster-paying-player infractions for which other schools have been expelled seem petty by comparison.
(“Penn State’s Catholic Church Problem,” The iPINIONS Journal, November 10, 2011)
I was relieved therefore after watching NCAA President Mark Emmert announce the following sanctions on CNN just moments ago:
Four year postseason ban—depriving the team of any bowl appearances, which is a huge revenue generator for the school and, more important, the primary objective most NFL-bound players have because of the national exposure bowl games provide;
10 initial scholarship losses and 20 per year for four years—making it almost impossible for Penn State to have a winning season during this period and, indeed, for many, many years thereafter;
$60 million fine—amounting to the gross revenue the team generates on an annual basis;
Five year probationary period; and
All wins from 1998-2011 vacated—adding insult to the injury Paterno suffered just yesterday when Penn State dismantled the 7-foot, 900-pound statue of him that was to its university campus what the Lincoln Memorial is to the National Mall. (Never mind that an analogy to the dismantling of the statue of Saddam Hussein might be more appropriate….) Now the record books will show that Penn State did not win a single game under Paterno’s leadership after 1998: this wipes out two perfect seasons; two national championships; and Paterno’s record as the coach with the most wins in the history of college Football.
Ironically, I have often argued that life imprisonment is a far more effective punishment than the death penalty. Therefore, despite calling for the “death penalty” against Penn State, I am pleased that the NCAA imposed what is effectively life imprisonment. Not least because I am mindful that, even though Paterno and Penn State engaged in a cover-up to protect their golden goose of a Football program, the underlying crimes they covered-up had nothing to do with that program.
With that I say, good riddance to Paterno and the Nittany Lions!
NOTE: Paterno’s surviving family members would be well-advised to stop issuing statements in a vain and futile attempt to salvage what little remains of his legacy. After all, at this point, only Holocaust deniers can have any interest in what they have to say in this regard.
Related commentaries:
Paterno engaged in cover-up…