Did the NCAA overstep their authority?

[ricochet]

The NCAA did nothing wrong. Penn State is lucky they didn't get the death penalty. IMO, the death penalty will never be given out again, because it can't get much worse than what Penn State did.

You do realize that the death penalty has been used at least twice since SMU right? Sure you can come back at me with old football is the only thing that matters routine. But, isn't that the whole problem - putting football on pedestal and worshiping it as the thing that matters above all else?

[isufbcurt]

Am I the only one who thinks this is a very confusing question looking at the answers?

I voted for the opposite that I wanted to because of it

[Tedcyclone]

Do you think the NCAA should now be able to prosecute criminal activity or they should have nothing to do with criminal activity not directly involved with the athletics operations?

oops i meant yes the ncaa should have made this decision.. i was answering no to the title of your post,which is different than the actual post answers.

[driegner]

The subject of the thread and the question in the poll would lead to opposite answers. Just sayin.

[CYlent Bob]

Athletic department employees not reporting a truthful, second-hand report of Sandusky's crimes is less of a criminal or harmful act than murder committed by one of the athletes.

Or Baylor..there you have murder, a coach covering it up, and payments.


Institutional control is in regards to violations for competitive advantages. Competitive advantage was gained when Joe Pa decided not to report what he was told about an ex-assistant and former friend?

Wrong.

Dave Bliss didn't try to cover up the murder. He tried to keep the fact that he was paying his players from coming out as a result of the murder investigation by instructing his coaches & players to tell investigators that the extra "walking around" money the victim had in his bank account was the result of selling drugs.

If you're going to be a Penn State apologist, at least do your homework. This is just embarrassing.

[Ficklone02]

Penn State is just lucky they are rooted in a very stable conference, unlike SMU back in the day who essentially lost out on getting into the Big XII after the SWC disbanded, because of the death penalty they received.

[acgclone]

The subject of the thread and the question in the poll would lead to opposite answers. Just sayin.

I noticed that too.

[CYlent Bob]

I think the NCAA has some rights here because of the fact it is not just one coach that did something wrong, but the entire oversight on the part of other coaches, including the head coach, and the Athletic Department Director, and maybe even the University President broke down. It was not only the problem with a single coach, but with the institution.

The only problem I have with this is that the court case has not taken place yet. I wish the NCAA could have waited until the court case is actually settled. Without doing that, it seems as though they have already judged the coach and Penn State guilty, and that is not the way this country is supposed to work. It seems to me a penalty like this could even influence a jury. I'm not trying to defend the coach or PSU, but it just seems like we are jumping the gun here a bit.

We wouldn't want an ISU player who gets arrested kicked off the team before the legal process has run its course would we?

ISU had a basketball coach arrested on child porn charges. Some of those charges involved activities that took place in his ISU office, iirc. He resigned, and I don't remember the outcome of the charges and trial, but I don't think ISU suffered any penalties from the NCAA for that, especially not before the trial. Maybe the embarrassment was considered enough punishment.

If only they had something to rely upon when determining the guilt or innocence of the Penn State administration and athletic department. Something along the lines of thousands & thousands of pages of internal communications between the four main players in this scandal. If the NCAA had access to that sort of information (possibly compiled into some sort of report by an outside investigator), then possibly these penalties would be appropriate.

And with Randy Brown, correct me if I'm wrong, but did ISU decide to NOT inform the authorities about Brown's little hobby? Because that would be APPLES compared to Penn State's ORANGES.

[ThurgoodMarshal]

Am I the only one who thinks this is a very confusing question looking at the answers?

Agree. It's misleading.

[Gnomeborg]

No, they did not overstep their bounds.

In a case like this, everyone who possibly can should issue sanctions against this university.

The Coast Guard should refuse to patrol Penn State's water-ways.

The Government of Costa Rica should officially suspend all classes from their Penn State campus.

The Rolling Stones should refuse to play the Penn State fight song in concert ever again.

I don't care how much or little power you have over Penn State, you should sanction them to the fullest extent of your ability.

[CykoAGR]

I agree the wording of the thread title and then the question are confusing.

I think that the NCAA had jurisdiction in this case not to impose sentencing for jail etc but to impose penalties for crimes committed due to the cover-up and how they prevented the school from getting hurt by covering up the crimes.

I am actually impressed by how quickly this came out and how harsh the punishment was. $60MM is a lot of money and will hopefully do some good going into the charities to help abused children. I dont know if 4 yrs is the right amount of time for post season ban but its something. I love the fact that they vacated the wins, I know it doesnt really mean a lot to fans etc but knowing the JoePa's name isnt at the top of that list anymore is reassuring.

[acoustimac]

Exactly.. that happened to me

Sorry...can't do anything about it. Guess everyone will just have to read. :)

Can't exactly see how the POLL question and answers are confusing or misleading. I understand others who look at the post topic, don't read the poll question, and then answer are confused. My fault there. The poll itself is pretty straight forward...should the NCAA be able to govern over criminal offenses committed within an athletic program at an NCAA institution? Seems pretty straight forward to me, but heck I wrote it! lol

[TigerCyJM]

The NCAA did nothing wrong. Penn State is lucky they didn't get the death penalty. IMO, the death penalty will never be given out again, because it can't get much worse than what Penn State did.

SMU and PSU are/were very different situations, though. At SMU, the coaches, some players, some fans/boosters, and university were all involved in the sham. At Ped State, it was a few high ranking members. The death penalty punishes the players and the fans, and the players and the fans did nothing wrong.

I think a good punishment wouldve been to expel them from the Big 10 and not allow them to join another conference for 15-20 years. It would put a strain on finances and show all universities that stuff like that wont be tolerated.

[isufbcurt]

oops i meant yes the ncaa should have made this decision.. i was answering no to the title of your post,which is different than the actual post answers.

Well then you offset set my vote because I voted yes when I meant to vote no.

[josh4isu]

Penn state should never have a football team again. They should tear down the stadium and put up that statue of paterno again so they always have a reminder that their football program is a disgrace.