Penn State Football Eviscerated For Sex Abuse
July 24, 2012 by Sam Rolley
UPI FILE
Joe Paterno’s statue was removed from the Penn State campus last weekend.
In the wake of the disturbing revelations over the past several months in the Penn State child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, the NCAA has levied “unprecedented” sanctions against the university’s football program.
The athletic organization said that by promoting a “football first” culture at the school, the university enabled Sandusky’s pedophilic activities and failed to uphold and value institutional integrity.
“As we evaluated the situation, the victims affected by Jerry Sandusky and the efforts by many to conceal his crimes informed our actions,” said Association President Mark Emmert. “At our core, we are educators. Penn State leadership lost sight of that.”
Penn State’s failures have resulted in the NCAA’s imposition of a $60 million fine against the university, equivalent to the annual gross revenue of its football program, to be paid into an endowment for programs aimed at preventing child sex abuse.
The athletic organization also imposed a four-year football postseason ban and vacated all of the university’s wins from 1998 through 2011.
“Football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people,” Emmert said.
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