Not over yet for the victims

On the one hand, I'm tending to agree with Mike Wise, who suggests that the only appropriate response to the institutional environment that so elevated sport's importance as to create and perpetuate an environment in which Jerry Sandusky could abuse boys, even after his departure from the coaching staff, was  to issue Penn State's football program the death penalty.

On the other, I see how the penalties which the NCAA handed down, coupled with the changes that PSU has already implemented, might be significant enough to prevent any similar future corruption of that culture and promote healing for victims of childhood sexual abuse. The thing is, there was entirely too much emphasis put on the importance of this football program on campus, and I've been told that JoPa's stellar graduation rate was inflated by the intimidation that professor's felt to pass his students at any cost.  I don't think this culture was unique to PSU, though one would hope that most schools wouldn't have a predator in their program to take advantage of the situation to the degree that Sandusky did, nor have such an overblown sense of the need to protect the program that they'd let him get away with it.  Okay, so the 1998 incident was "investigated," but still . . . 

I can understand why the Paterno family might feel their patriarch's reputation, and by association their own, has been inappropriately tarnished.  They probably feel hurt and indignant.  I hope they have the good sense to realize that this isn't about them. Joe Paterno was the head football coach at PSU, and is thus responsible for what happened under the auspices of that program. If the football program's legacy calls for almost 15 years of records to be wiped out because the harm that was done warrants such a response, then I can't imagine that Joe would try to duck the effects that has on his place in FBS history.  

But I'm sure glad I'm not the judge who had to determine an appropriate response.