Posted on 07/23/2012 7:50:30 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This is an excellent article, as far as it goes, by people who were "on the right side of history” from the start of the scandal precipitated by Crystal Mangum’s gratuitous “rape” allegation. But there is one similarity between the scandals at the two universities, and some differences which should be emphasized. The similarity is that in both cases the scandal related to a university athletic program.The differences are that although Duke has a big time athletic program, it is famous in NCAA circles for basketball, not lacrosse, and Penn State, athletically, is football. And also that the corruption alleged in the Penn State football program was within the faculty, whereas the scandal at Duke targeted mere students.
But although Sandusky - and Paterno, who apparently enabled him by not blowing up his football program to stop Sandusky’s malignant abuse - were “faculty,” the corruption did not directly impinge on Penn State students. Whereas, at Duke, the real scandal was the administration and the university faculty at large, which in its reaction to the initial scandal proved itself unworthy of the trust placed in it by its students and their parents. And, thus, of its donors.
Penn State proved to have a corrupt football program, masquerading as an admirable one. Duke University, on the other hand, proved itself to be corrupt as an institution. With, incidentally, a lacrosse program which was not guilty, at least as charged.
Penn State has lost an ornament, and the scandal touched its administration. Which is damaging.Duke’s (minor) ornament, it’s lacrosse program, was OK.
Duke as a university? Not so much.
Why is a private organization (The NCAA) assessing the penalty for a CRIMIAL act?
It’s not like this was a violation of the rules of the game of football and/or the college’s football-related recruiting activites, it was a criminal activity not related to the game of football.
People should be going to jail, not getting fined by the NCAA.
Why is a private organization (The NCAA) assessing the penalty for a CRIMINAL act?
It’s not like this was a violation of the rules of the game of football and/or the college’s football-related recruiting activites, it was a criminal activity not related to the game of football.
People should be going to jail, not getting fined by the NCAA.
Penn State gained a competive advantage they would not have had the truth about Sandusky come out.
EVERY administrator with knowledge of the situation should be charged, fired (if still on staff), and have his pension revoked.
I fail to see how the football players themselves, or the fans and alumni who had no knowledge of this, are guilty and should be punished. This was NOT a "Penn State football program" violation. This was an ADMINISTRATIVE CRIME, and just like at Duke, the guilty are getting away while the program is tarnished.
$
I have posted several times regarding this, and I believe the NCAA has every right (and responsibility) to impose sanctions on PSU.
As I have said previously, Sandusky could have murdered a nun on the fifty yard line and PSU would have skated as long as they reported it to the police.
The highest officials at PSU were made aware of Sandusky’s horrifying transgressions over a decade ago, and allowed more children to be victimized to preserve the standing of their beloved football program.
In the NCAA bylaws, section 2.4 Principle of Sportsmanship and Ethics states in no uncertain terms that member organizations must promote conditions advancing values such as civility and morality even off the playing field. I think we can all agree PSU failed to adhere to that particular bylaw.
Essentially, the NCAA is not penalizing PSU for Sandusky’s crime. They are penalizing PSU for the institutional disregard for basic NCAA tenets.
The SCOTUS held in the Tarkanian case that the NCAA is not a state actor and therefore not subject to due process requirements under the 14th.
But if Sandusky had murdered someone would we be asking the NCAA to impose ‘fines’ on the school for it?
This was criminal activity.
Just because he was part of the football program and he did these things while working for the football program does not mean it comes under the jurisdiction of the NCAA.
NCAA contracts and bylaws say it does.
The NCAA is a voluntary organization. State Penn is free to leave it.
Did you actually read my post? The NCAA is a collection of member schools. It’s no different than the Kiwanis Club. The Kiwanis Club can kick out, sanction or stick their tongue out and make faces at any member it chooses, and likely would if that member covered up the rape of little boys.
Can you blame them? What would it say about the NCAA if they just said: “Yeah, they’re a member of our club, and yeah, they covered up child rape. What are we to do?”
Agreed.
As a Oklahoma Sooners fan, I find it interesting that the coach who said he wouldn’t retire because: “It would leave college football in the hands of the Jackie Sherrills and Barry Switzers”. Paterno denied that he was calling them ‘cheaters’ and said he meant their attitude that winning trumped all else.
If the institution is guilty, why is Brodhead still there?
Just as in politics it was the coverup that is bringing them down. Paterno and others should of hanged Sandusky out to dry in 1998.
I take back my “$” comment to you. All the money will go towards helping abused children.
Penn State will be great again. They have to take their lumps but will survive. Ten years from now they will be back to Football and Educating students. People memories are short and I would not worry about Penn State a bit. They will be fine.
Winning football games at the cost of covering up child rape doesn’t make anyone or anything “great”. Heck, just winning football games doesn’t make anyone or anything “great” - other than great at football.
Penn State was never great. If they ever achieve greatness it will be far from a football field.
Just because people pay homage to their false idols every Sunday doesn’t make football God, or football players paragons of any virtue but the athletic.
Now I enjoy watching a game - but I don’t mistake what I see on the field as greatness - just athletics.
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.
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