OpEd: The Penn State Mess

From ESPN regarding the NCAA's handling of the Jerry Sandusky situation:

The NCAA has hit Penn State with a $60 million sanction, a four-year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998, the organization said Monday morning. The career record of Joe Paterno will reflect these vacated records, the NCAA said.

Penn State also must reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period.

The NCAA revealed the sanctions as NCAA president Mark Emmert and Ed Ray, the chairman of the NCAA Executive Committee and Oregon State's president, spoke at a news conference in Indianapolis at the organization's headquarters.

It won't give the wronged their childhoods back, and it punishes people with no real responsibility for the tragedy itself, but this was probably the best possible move by the NCAA.

I have no real connection to the University. Therefore I think I can speak as a neutral outsider when I say that I believe that these penalties, taking down statues, renaming facilities and the like will be the only way those not responsible for this mess, i.e. current students, can move forward, whether they can see it currently or not.

It almost needs to be catharsis or bust; even then the stink surrounding Penn State is sure to last far longer than any NCAA sanction.