Reply #35: SMU v. Sacred Cows

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

As I've written elsewhere, I definitely became disillusioned over college athletics the more engrossed I got in it. It's a sick, cult/tribal culture of yahoos, elitists, idols, sacred cows, and wealthy white men.

There's a cognitive disconnect when it comes to sacred cows. SMU student-athletes, most of whom were innocents, had the misfortune of not being protected by attending an NCAA sacred cow university. There have been, and will always be innocents when a program receives the death penalty, and, in most cases, it's not the players at fault. That's not a prerequisite for the death penalty. With the exception of the point shaving scandal, it's always the actions of adults in, or outside, the athletic department. A few players are participants in corruption, possibly receiving money or having their grades changed, but put that in perspective: there are 85 players on a football team. In other words, about 80 innocents are affected by the actions of a few adults in the program. There always have been innocents adversely affected when the death penalty is handed down, that is an inconvenient truth. Penn State does not deserve special consideration simply because they (WE) ARE PENN STATE!

As to Luke's point that they haven't broken any rules, that may not matter. This incident will fall under the NCAA ethics bylaws. So, the death penalty is, and should be, on the table.

If the NCAA looks at sanctioning Penn State, it appears it would include looking at NCAA Bylaw 2.4, on "principles of sportsmanship and ethical conduct," which calls for "intercollegiate athletics to promote the character development of participants ... . These values should be manifest not only in athletics participation but also in the broad spectrum of activities affecting the athletics program."

This broad bylaw typically has been used to regulate behavior such as trash-talking during a game. It appears to be unprecedented to use the bylaw to penalize an institution over ethical conduct. But this obviously is an unprecedented circumstance that has unfolded in State College.

...they are alleged crimes, but the alleged crimes are horrific. That takes it to another level. Some of the infractions that have occurred in the past did not reach the level of criminality.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/college/football/view.bg?articleid=1380144&format=&page=2&listingType=colfb#articleFull

The professional aspirations of the prospects won't be much impacted. First, scouts know who the prospects are, and there aren't 85 prospects on any program. Second, only 250 players are drafted each year, the remainder sign free agent contracts. Tony Romo wasn't drafted, he signed on with the Cowboys as a free agent. Third, players may transfer to programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Pitt, etc.. College football will persevere.

Finally, if not the NCAA, PSU may opt for a self-imposed mercy killing. They are inviting a lot of unrest as it is already. These next few weeks will give the university an opportunity to test the winds once the team finally leaves their isolated Paterno compound. They may learn that the rest of the world isn't as forgiving as Happy Valley.

EDIT: death penalty should be on the table