Apparently, the Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett (R.) is upset with the NCAA’s July 2012 decision to penalize Penn State University for whitewashing, lying and its complicit acts in the Jerry Sandusky child rape/molestation case. Gov. Corbett a former Penn State Board trustee and yes, a lawyer by trade, is using state resources to sue the NCAA for a bad call. Like an angry coach, Governor Corbett has tossed the red flag and wants the ruling reviewed and yes, overruled.
In what is yet another example of the disintegration of American culture, a culture that puts winning at all costs over decency, responsibility and contrition, Pennsylvania’s Chief Executive and former Attorney General is fighting to neutralize the one entity possessing the power to hold the college sports gods accountable for putting collegiate sports above the safety of our communities and the education of our children. Since 1998, Penn State University knowingly allowed an assistant football coach to rape and molest teenage boys on and off campus and Governor Corbett thinks the NCAA punishment imposed on the University is without precedent and is too stiff?
When I first read the news of the Governor’s suit I was mystified. How could a Conservative Republican Governor find any merit in defending a college football program’s financial health over the safety of Pennsylvania’s children? Why now after Penn State gladly accepted the NCAA’s punishment for facilitating the rape and what many would argue, where, heinous acts of torture against boys in their care? It’s simple. Money.
Governor Corbett’s lawsuit claims the $50 million dollar earning Penn State football program didn’t violate any NCAA rules and the NCAA “overreached” with an “unlawful” punishment, a punishment the NCAA claims was designed to send a message and change the culture of collegiate sports to a focus on athlete safety and education.
Pennsylvania’s economy and its residents are taking a financial hit from the NCAA’s decision to penalize the legendary Nittany Lions football program after they were finally caught and forced to confess their involvement. How unfortunate. My heart bleeds for the rabid football fan and Pennsylvania businessmen who will have to feel the pain of monetary loss for allowing a culture of warped priorities to grow and fester under the tutelage of infallible men running a football team. A culture that hid the acts of one of their own so they could add one more trophy to the case, one more banner to the wall and one more stadium renovation to the Penn State football legacy.
Governor Corbett and his constituency serve as an example of exactly why we need a reinvigorated NCAA. What does it say about an entire state when its residents would rather live vicariously through college athletes rather than punish the betrayal and rape of young males aspiring to one day be part of the Penn State culture? College athletics is out of control in our nation and the NCAA is partly to blame. For decades student athletes and college athletics programs have been excused from life’s realities and it’s about time somebody got benched. It’s sad it took the sexual abuse of kids to make that happen.
All over the United States colleges and universities are dismissing their core purpose just to win a game. College sports are no longer an extracurricular activity aiding gifted athletes in pursuit of higher education. A closer look at graduation rates at athletically superior schools proves me right.
By filing this suit against the NCAA, Governor Corbett is going to do more damage to collegiate athletics than Penn State University did to the Pennsylvania fan/business community. Typical of lawyers turned politicians. Somehow they always get their priorities turned around.
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