Johnson and Taylor: Penn State, Duke and Integrity

The Wall Street Journal ^ | July 18, 2012 | Johnson and Taylor

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

. . . [Duke President Richard] Brodhead’s initial public statement said that people must uphold the presumption of innocence. But at a private meeting that included faculty members who signed the ad, he was excoriated for that statement . . .

In a subsequent open letter to the Duke community, Mr. Brodhead canceled the lacrosse season, accepted the coach's resignation, and added several sentences about the evils of rape and the legacy of racism and misogyny. It made no reference to the lacrosse players' presumption of innocence.

. . . In the end, justice was done, to some extent. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, who took over the case from Nifong, concluded an exhaustive investigation by publicly declaring that the evidence proved that nobody raped, otherwise assaulted, or had sexual contact with the woman. The lacrosse players, a generally admirable group of young men (we got to know most of them while researching a 2007 book on the case), have gotten on with their lives. Nifong was disbarred.

Duke avoided even the pretense of accountability. In sharp contrast to Mr. Freeh's inquiry at Penn State, Duke's two investigators of the administration's conduct spent less than a week on campus. Their report hailed the "eloquent" and "widely applauded" open letter of Mr. Brodhead, for whom the investigators expressed "compassion" and "support." The report maintained "there is clearly more to be done" to "increase diversity" among the faculty and administration.

. . . It's possible that Penn State will fail to rehabilitate its currently tarnished image. But, unlike Duke, at least the school's leaders appear to understand that, in responding to scandal, a university must position itself on the right side of history.

[Brookhaven]

But if Sandusky had murdered someone and the football program had covered it up, would we be asking the NCAA to impose ‘fines’ on the school for it?

That's the difference here. Criminal activity was covered up (by high and low level officials) to save the football program.

The legal system is there to handle the individual criminal activity, but it isn't equipped to handle the corruption of the football program.

That's why the NCAA was created (created by a bunch of schools and schools join the NCAA voluntarily)--to prevent the corruption of college sports.

[Belle22]

Broadhead is still at Duke because the institution is guilty. He is a self-absorbed coward who went on a tour to beg the alumni who had stopped giving to reconsider. He whined that he could not control the faculty. Some alumni told him, that’s pathetic, we’re not going to contribute to funding you, or that faculty, or the indoctrination of students with your lack of values. But nothing has changed because too many people won’t do anything right unless they’re forced to do so.

[JimSEA]

“on the right side of history”

That phrase irritates me. If you do the right thing, your legacy will most likely take care of itself. Both Duke and Penn State were all too concerned about preserving their legacy.

[Batman11]

PFL

[vette6387]

“Ten years from now they will be back to Football and Educating students. “

Interesting that you separate these two activities! So football doesn’t really have anything to do with the mission of a university does it! So just what is football’s “contribution” to the process of education? Answer: Absolutely Nothing!! Collegiate athletics is just another money pot for professional sports franchise owners that they milk at the expense of the taxpayers. It’s their “farm system” but they don’t have the real expense of it. Just like getting local governments to build them taxpayer-funded places to make money that are called stadiums.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I didn’t know that the NCAA could assess simple fines against member institutions such as the $60 million assessed against Penn State.

But since they can assess fines, they should have assessed a huge fine against Duke for probably the most unfair, abusive treatment of its student athletes in NCAA history. If athletes have ever received worse treatment at the hands of a member institution’s administration, I haven’t heard about.

I suppose you could refer to “students” who are recruited to sports programs and who are never even expected to earn a degree. Ya gotta admit, being recruited to be a “student” under those conditions is abusive in its own way - and has been and probably still is quite common in most programs.

And likewise, a true student is abused when his competition is not actually a fellow college student. But the Duke Lacrosse Team was thrown under the bus most egregiously - the administration actually counseled the students not to contact outside legal aid while at the same time the Nifong and the Duke faculty was organizing a veritable lynch mob against them.

The Penn State scandal is about what Penn State was willing to do for its football program. The Duke scandal is about what Duke was willing to do to its lacrosse team.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

This was an ADMINISTRATIVE CRIME, and just like at Duke, the guilty are getting away while the program is tarnished.

Yep.

[Will88]

The Penn State scandal is about what Penn State was willing to do for its football program. The Duke scandal is about what Duke was willing to do to its lacrosse team.

I absolutely believe that the same sort of cowardice and political correctness that caused the NCAA to say nothing and do nothing during the abuse of the Duke Lacrosse players and coach, that same cowardice and political correctness now causes the NCAA to pile on and assume all sorts of pious and sanctimonious airs when punishing Penn State.

I just can't be at all impressed with these NCAA posers, whether or not one thinks Penn State should have been punished by the NCAA in addition to the civil and criminal penalties they face.

This is the same gang of phonies going nuts over Indian mascots, even in cases where the American Indians involved have no objection to the use of tribal or general Indian representations as mascots.

[Jumper]

For Duke the right side of History is contary to the NAACPs version, the democrat party’s version and what people remember. Contrary to the popular widely held belief that the players raped the “crying wolf hooker with a history of repeating her cry”, no one remembers they were innocent.

[Jacquerie]

I suppose it depends on the state, but private organizations like Homeowners Associations and Realtor Associations can assess penalties on members as well.

[MrEdd]

Because the NCAA also has the power within its bylaws to level penalties for egregious unethical lapses on the part of its members.

The wording is broad and nebulouse. You will find it if you look into the phrase “loss of institutional control.” It was written in an ancient time when people expected those in authority to exersize a concept called “judgement” (unknown in today’s culture) rather than listing every possibility out.

The NCAA is under the gun here. It is a thin pretend veneer of self regulation shielding what is pretty much a proffesional minor league from both government regulation, and from having to pay its players.
A big enough failure to act could result in state and federal governments stepping in...and stripping the pie away from the schools.