The NCAA announced the punishment it will implement at Penn State University this morning. All Penn State victories between 1998 and 2011 will be voided. In addition, the University must pay a $60 million sanction, face a four-year ban from Bowl games, and a loss of scholarships. The NCAA decision comes on the heels of Penn State removing the Joe Paterno statue from its campus this past weekend.
While there is no denying that the actions (or inactions) of senior university officials was negligent and irresponsible at best, the NCAA’s penalties do more of a disservice to the students and alumni than to those in power.
On radio this morning, Glenn spoke about the decision of Penn State to remove the Paterno statue, and the NCAA penalties.
“I'm uncomfortable convicting a man who can't even defend himself,” Glenn said in regards to the since deceased Paterno. “But he is dead, and I'm totally fine with them taking away the statue at Penn State.”
“What [Jerry] Sandusky did was destroy the name of Penn State for all time,” he continued. “So it's absolutely over. Now, with that being said, here is the tragedy. Here is – this is so 2012 America. This is so two plus two equals five. Because of what Sandusky did, they're not only taking away the statue of Paterno, which again I'm fine with, they're now saying that they're going to take away all of the wins from Penn State.”
While the deletion of wins from 1998 to 2011 will knock Paterno from the winningest coach in College Football history to twelfth on the all-time list, the NCAA is really taking the victories away from the students.
“This is so unbelievably wrong because you're not taking them away from Paterno. You're taking them away from everybody who played,” Glenn said. “And how un-American is this? You're taking away merit. You're taking away something that they actually earned.”
Glenn explained that he would understand the NCAA’s actions if the scandal revolved around cheating of some kind (i.e. performance enhancing drugs), but to strip the players of their hard earned victories because of their coach’s flawed character seems unfair.
“So they're taking away the merit," Glenn said.
Take away the scholarships, fine the University, take down the statue – but in taking away past achievements, the NCAA has stripped those players of the accomplishments that they rightfully earned.
“It's wrong. It's un‑American,” Glenn concluded. “Paterno's not the only one that had those wins. All of the members on the team. And I'm sorry. The coach doesn't win the game. The team did. And they weren't in the shower. They were on the field. They had nothing to do with it."
“The truth is they won the games. Period. Leave the truth alone. No matter how many times you and your politically correct and your progressive ideas try to change words, change meanings, change images or change the score of the game, we all know. We all know. Don't dishonor yourself even more. Stand for the truth.”