Should Penn State Get the Death Penalty?

[Trivers]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/481264...lege_football/


Looks like officials are going from Penn State to state pen. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

What say ye? If so, for how long?

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by ReynardMuldrake

This argument doesn't wash. Just about every person serving time in prison has a family. Should we let some convicted felon go free because his kids are innocent and shouldn't be deprived of a father? Of course not. By that rationale nobody would ever get convicted because you can always find an innocent 3rd party that would be affected.



So you seriously think Penn State is the victim here?

Penn State is a non-entity here. It's not a victim, it's not a felon. It's nothing. It's a University that hires individuals and individuals do awful freakin' things. If a high ranking employee at your office murders someone and uses the garage to dismember the body, then 3 other friends of his help him clean up the blood and don't tell anyone - should they shut the business down?

Your analogy is what doesn't wash. Family members of a convicted felon aren't the convicted felon. There's a clear distinction between the party that's committed the wrong (the felon) and his family members. When you punish Penn State, you're not even attempting to draw a distinction.

You're trying to anthropomorphize Penn State here. Penn State isn't a human. It's not a thing. It's not capable of acting independently, as your convicted felon was. As such, it's not an appropriate target for punishment. The people that should be punished are those that were involved in these heinous acts.

The rest of it is just self-righteous moral grandstanding. It's people speaking from raw emotion completely bereft of reason while trying to prove that they hate child molesters more than the other guy. Gee, thanks fellas.

There are CLEAR, defined villains in this matter. There are clearly people who's very freedom needs to be taken away from them because of their behavior. Punish them. Anything beyond that is just shouting and pitchforks for the sake of their own self-indulgence.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Mr. Flopnuts

how on Earth can this be classified as not as serious?

It is pretty sad that betting, free tats, selling medals/trophies/NCAA apparel, and SMU are less important than child molestation in the NCAA's eyes.

[Garcia Bronco]

The NCAA could say that by not reporting the incident, per the Clery Act, that Penn state was trying impact recruiting. Either way....the "Death Penalty" isn't an option. It's not something that should ever be done again due to the lasting effect to the school and it's conference memeber schools.

[Lex Luthor]

The death penalty? Of course not.

Hell, they won't even lose a scholarship or a bowl game. It's not like they allowed a booster to buy a meal for a recruit, allowed a player to play who was later ruled ineligible, or had a coach send a bunch to text messages to a recruit.

Those are SERIOUS NCAA VIOLATIONS. All Penn State did was to allow one of its coaches to systematically rape children for several decades. That's not even close to being a a violation that's serious enough for the NCAA to get involved.

[Sorter]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

The death penalty? Of course not.

Hell, they won't even lose a scholarship or a bowl game. It's not like they allowed a booster to buy a meal for a recruit, allowed a player to play who was later ruled ineligible, or had a coach send a bunch to text messages to a recruit.

Those are SERIOUS NCAA VIOLATIONS. All Penn State did was to allow one of its coaches to systematically rape children for several decades. That's not even close to being a a violation that's serious enough for the NCAA to get involved.

Yup. However, student-athletes can now have cream cheese on bagels.

[okcchief]

I'm usually not for the death penalty, but in this case I think they should shut it down 5 years as an example. When football becomes more important than the safety of children something should be done. If they report him 14 years ago it's just on one man. Now it's the whole university. In four years they will be the bottom of the Big 10.

[Molitoth]

No. It is not fair to the kids whom have chosen to go to that school.

[Chiefnj2]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You're trying to anthropomorphize Penn State here. Penn State isn't a human. It's not a thing. It's not capable of acting independently, as your convicted felon was. As such, it's not an appropriate target for punishment. The people that should be punished are those that were involved in these heinous acts.

.

The athletic department is an appropriate target for punishment because it was the "thing" that the President, Vice-President, AD, Paterno and police were all trying to "protect". The department meant more than the lives of children.

[Fishpicker]

I voted no. the NCAA shouldn't have anything to do with this. I only hope that the victims are generously compensated. if that just so happens to bankrupt the school, I wouldn't give a care.

[Saulbadguy]

No.

[Bearcat]

Ah, the slippery slope between flushing a football program for a year or two and shutting down a city. Just another debate on ChiefsPlanet.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Sorter

It is pretty sad that betting, free tats, selling medals/trophies/NCAA apparel, and SMU are less important than child molestation in the NCAA's eyes.

That's such a wildly ignorant statement.

It's. Not. Their. Job.

Ask any member of the NCAA and every last one of them will tell you that this is far more abhorrent than tattoos.

Now go ahead and ask a civil judge if he thinks the murderer trial down the hall is more critical to the continuation of polite society than the rent and possession case on their docket that day. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that one, but tough shit - you're running the civil docket today, Judge. It's someone else's role to monitor the murder trials.

I swear to God, some people are simply incapable of engaging their brains right now. Even if the NCAA wanted to, there is nothing within their regulatory authority that allows them to punish a college for conduct committed by their employees, even employees associated with athletics, for non-athletic related activities. The NCAA does not have plenary police power here.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

The athletic department is an appropriate target for punishment because it was the "thing" that the President, Vice-President, AD, Paterno and police were all trying to "protect". The department meant more than the lives of children.

The President, Vice-President, AD and Pateron are the appropriate targets.

What is the benefit of going beyond the actual wrong-doers other than to assuage your own egos? What good comes of shuttering the Penn State football program?

[kysirsoze]

If you don't think they should get the "death penalty" because of how unfair it is to the innocents at the school, then you must be against the NCAA "death penalty" altogether. If you think it is something that is sometimes justified, then it obviously applies here.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by okcchief

I'm usually not for the death penalty, but in this case I think they should shut it down 5 years as an example. When football becomes more important than the safety of children something should be done. If they report him 14 years ago it's just on one man. Now it's the whole university. In four years they will be the bottom of the Big 10.

Do you believe that the average University President needs a reminder that covering up the systematic raping of minor children is bad?

Normal people know this. Good, decent human beings with sound judgment know this. If nothing else, the jail time that all those responsible are going to face is going to be a more than ample reminder to anyone that may consider this a viable way of dealing with a situation like this going forward.

If you're a person that's willing to look the other way when you know this is happening - WTF do you care about your program getting the death penalty? Afterall, you're already risking your own freedom and possibly even the financial survival of your family.

There is absolutely nothing that shutting down Penn State football would accomplish that jailing Spanier, Curley and Schultz won't accomplish on its own.