Ebony's Jonathan Pitts-Wiley says that the consequences should be dire for those who hid sexual abuse for more than a decade.
… With the release of the Freeh Report, many are focused on the gross negligence and outright malfeasance of the powers that be at Penn State. While disturbed and disappointed, I can’t help but be utterly unsurprised. Disgusted, but unsurprised: people in positions of authority abused their power — and, in a manner of speaking, young children — to protect the brand and the bottom line. Sadly, I doubt it was a matter of not caring about kids; it was a matter of caring about money more. Depraved? Utterly. But people can be staggeringly … people-ish, especially when trying to protect false idols and convince donors to fork over money year after year. Would I like to see the grossest accessories to these crimes stand trial? I would, but the punishments cannot be left to the state of Pennsylvania.
I doubt the university will voluntarily shutter the football program for a season. The Sandusky affair is but a maelstrom on an ocean of money in which the institution enjoys swimming. I have to believe a certain line of thinking is as follows:
"If certain people covered up child abuse for decades without punishment, why should we punish ourselves when that guy is about to go to jail forever and those individuals are no longer Penn Staters? And really, is it fair to punish football for the depravity of a pedophile and the indifference of others?"
Here is where the NCAA needs to bust out the whoopin' stick and say, " … Yeah."
Read Jonathan Pitts-Wiley's entire piece at Ebony.
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