My Mixed Reaction to Penn State Penalties

Penn State University has just received numerous, very severe penalties for complicity in Jerry Sandusky's child molestations that went on for several years with the knowledge of various responsible parties in the university, including their head football coach, the late Joe Paterno.  Among the penalties that the governing board of the NCAA meted out were a $60 million fine, curtailment of football scholarships for the next four years, and a ban on bowl appearances for the same time span.  I agree with these sanctions. But they also did something that, while understanding the heinousness of the crimes that the officials had covered up and allowed to continue, I have a philosophical objection to...

All of Penn State's football victories from 1998 through 2111 were retroactively taken away.  This means that Coach Paterno's all-time NCAA career record of 411 coaching wins is gone, whittled down to 298.  Maybe the destruction of his legacy was part of their intent in levying this punishment.  But it also may have an unintended consequence as well.  Suppose I am watching an important college football game in the future, as I am reasonably assured of doing.  Why then should I suppose that the results of that game will hold up in future years when some later allegation about a violation may be proven true and that result possibly annulled? How can I ever believe in the finality of the results of any athletic contest held under the authority of the NCAA?

I believe that it is awfully presumptuous of NCAA officials to go back in time and rewrite their sports histories.  This certainly doesn't happen in professional sports: the penalties handed out for past violations affect the present and future, with the penalized teams and individuals having to suffer the immediate effects  thereof.  Going back and rewriting the books hurts innocent participants and fans, and creates the impression that what happens on the field is ultimately meaningless: a circle of judges sitting around a table behind closed doors high up in the NCAA will determine what "happened" according to their own dictates at any particular time they choose to do so.

Taking away past wins is nothing new with the NCAA.  This has gone on for decades.  And with all of the other means of punishment at their disposal, it is completely unnecessary. Yes, the violations may be bad: certainly they were in this case with that Sandusky ghoul. But choose another direction for sometimes deservedly severe punishment...