Penn State Gets New Life While Miami Still Holds Its Breath

Jerry Sandusky, the Kingpin behind the Penn State University scandal, has been tried and convicted in a court of law predicated upon the disgusting things that he did to little innocent children while at the Penn State facilities. His heinous acts originally surfaced as mere allegations. Those allegations were proven beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt with empirical data into what is known as facts. It was a compilation of those facts that convinced a jury of his guilt.  Based upon those facts and the jury's verdict, a Federal judge entered judgment on that verdict and came up with an appropriate sentence for Sandusky, who will never wear anything but a Federal prison uniform for the rest of his life.

There are real victims in the PSU case. These are victims that were so small that they could never defend themselves against the evil ogre that Sandusky was and still is.  They were so young and impressionable that their minds will forever be damaged as a result of these actions.  These victims are so fragile that their lives will never be what they were before they encountered Sandusky.  They will never be the same, thanks in large part, to the inaction of the administration of Penn State University that allowed Sandusky and his deviant behavior to run rampant on its campus and terrorize his victims.  They let a sexual monster roam free in its locker room and on its campus and were too afraid to blow the whistle.  The actions by Sandusky and the PSU staff were so egregious that the university has already settled with 25 victims, according to various media reports.  The Centre Daily Times reported last month that PSU has earmarked $60 million for its victim payouts.

The Penn State victims actually suffered.  They were not victimless incidents.  Penn State's saga  was not about a player receiving extra benefits or getting food when he was hungry.  These were acts that were so sadistic and morally reprehensible and were committed by men that should have known better.  They were done by men that were entrusted with lives of children in the first place.  The administration might not have touched the children themselves, but they allowed for it to continue by not stopping Sandusky in his tracks.  For that, they will be accountable for the remainder of their lives.

While Sandusky spends the rest of his miserable life in prison and his victims try to pick up the pieces of their lives and try to move on, the NCAA helps PSU by picking them up off the floor and gives them hope for a brighter tomorrow. Scholarships are being given back so the University can try once again to gain in prominence and get back to its more storied days.  The Penn State football program should have suffered the Death Penalty.  Instead, the NCAA is giving them a second chance. What is the NCAA doing for these victims? What is Mark Emmert doing for the victims that will never lead a normal life thanks to the illegal actions of those that governed Penn State University?

The NCAA is sending a message loud and clear. Even though your University allowed these atrocities to occur on your campus, even though you had full knowledge of these acts and did nothing about them, we will give you the benefit of the doubt and become more successful in football and lift some of the punishment that was placed upon you.  Forget the fact that children were raped in Penn State's locker room, the NCAA wants to restore Penn State to what it once was on the football field.  Unfortunately, it is forgetting what it once was off the football field.

This is the same institution that cannot make a decision as to whether or not to further sanction the University of Miami, a school that accepted responsibility and punished itself well in advance of any sanction that could come their way from the NCAA.  The University of Miami has suffered in recent years, as it should have, in light of what they are being charged with.  The PSU decision was swift and efficient if nothing else. From start to the finish, the duration was eight months.  Miami is in its third year and still does not know if it will be home for the holidays once again.

It must be said that the Hurricanes have taken the high road during this entire ordeal and have not sought the pity of anyone.  Coach Al Golden has stayed the course with UM and has not made excuses nor has he asked anyone for anything.  The fact that he is still here hanging on and sweating and bleeding with the program speaks volumes about Golden's character.  He could have left this as part of his past and sought greener pastures, but he stayed and may he one day be rewarded for doing so.

Golden and Donna Shalala have made the tough calls and have not wavered in their commitment to excellence and in their commitment to justice. Recruits are still coming to Miami because of the rich history that this program has and the bright future that it will enjoy.  Nevin Shapiro cannot take away our successful past nor can he take away the successes that this program will taste in the future with Golden & Co. at the helm.  While Shapiro spends his $320.00 per month in commissary in Federal prison, he will never be known as anything but a con man that failed in his bid to take down this great and mighty University. Shapiro will never be bigger than the program.

The UM will come out of this ordeal fine, regardless of what the NCAA does.  It is the NCAA that should prepare for its own death penalty as they will not survive this process.  After what they have shown in the Johnny Manziel saga and how they totally made a mockery of the Penn State matter and how they are ignoring the University of Miami, there will be some governmental committee or other organization that will attempt to rid the world of the NCAA.  Mr. Emmert should start passing out his resume as his days as leader of this lame-duck organization are going to come to an end.  This action with Penn State could have been his parting shot before he goes into the employment abyss.

The NCAA should have taken a step forward and put the Miami case to bed this week and let all of the dust finally settle. Instead, it took no action. What it did do was free Penn State from part of its punishment.  This manic-depressive behavior of the NCAA will only further the perception of the public that an alternative body needs to govern.