For the Worst Scandal, the Worst Punishment

Jessica Danielle is the creator of the Player Perspective sports blog.

July 16, 2012

One of the ugliest marks on the N.C.A.A. is its eagerness to deliver harsh punishments to student athletes while ignoring egregious offenses committed by the adults in charge. In fact, the adults who run the N.C.A.A. have made a habit of either ignoring their own rules, hiding behind civil and criminal cases as reasons not to hand down harsh penalties, or enforcing rules unevenly and only when convenient.

It’s too late for the N.C.A.A. to stop Jerry Sandusky and his enablers at Penn State University. But it’s not too late for it to set a new standard for how it enforces its rules and determines who gets to participate in collegiate sports.
Over the years, student athletes have been dismissed or suspended from programs for such dastardly deeds as accepting too much money for a summer job or selling their own jerseys. Schools have engaged in violations like providing perks or committing academic fraud. Penalties have varied.
In the 80s, the N.C.A.A. shut down Southern Methodist University’s football program for a year because the school helped pay under the table.
But Penn State’s abetting of a sexual predator case is more serious than any previous college offense and consequently deserves the harshest penalty in N.C.A.A. history.
Some argue that a suspension of the football program would be unfair because those who concealed the crimes are gone and the repercussions could eliminate Penn State football and harm other sports there.
But, unfortunately, any penalty the N.C.A.A. levies at any school harms folks who played no role in the violations. So that fact should not preclude the N.C.A.A. from handing out a penalty that fits — a suspension of at least 2 to 5 years.