Penn State football needs the death penalty

Presuming that Jerry Sandusky is guilty of sodomizing teenage boys and that Joe Paterno, while fulfilling the letter of the law, failed to uphold the spirit of the law and failed as a moral leader, then Penn State football needs to be given the NCAA death penalty.

No athletic scandal is remotely as profane as this and while the Penn State athletic department may have upheld the letter of NCAA rules, they surely did not enforce the spirit of NCAA rules. Sports is, presumably, about more than just following the letter of the law.

While the NCAA is, to a great degree, a farce with a nostalgic attitude for an era than never really existed, it is still incumbent on the NCAA to deal harshly with Penn State, if only to maintain its “moral” relevance. I propose a ban lasting as many years as there was a cover-up: nine.

Any institution that protects pedophiles for the sake of preserving the appearance of institutional integrity should be broken to pieces and scattered to the wind. Likewise, its most loyal followers should disavow and disown it.

David Sheets

Toddville