Part of the difference is that Penn State is run by the STATE of Pennsylvania. In other words, payment to this organization is not voluntary for the people of PA, or, to the extent that Penn State gets federal funds, for any Americans.
Anyone can stop, or never start, funding the Catholic Church. In a just world, people would also not be forced to fund Penn State. In other words, the University should have it’s government funding eliminated over these events. That would likely lead to Penn’s shutdown, or at least to a major shrinkage.
In this world, on the other hand, the fact that Penn State and it’s football program are government programs means that they are eternal. People, mainly in PA, but also from elsewhere, will have to pay their own money every year to keep a pedophilia-sponsoring organization running. That’s one of the many offensive things about this whole story. Calls to shut down Penn State are, in my opinion, at least partly a reasonable, if ultimately futile, protest against being forced to fund this organization.
Good thought. PA is in a hole financially. Cutting off State Aid would be awesome. Let the proud Alumni fund the institution. I love the idea.