Penn State deserved the penalties the NCAA applied in response to Sandusky scandal

Sure, 4 rounds is great. I just didn't know, what with all the hype surrounding this and the emotions and what not, how many rounds someone would want to do. We can just fill rd 5. Now , let's get down to business. I am contending that these NCAA sanctions were completely necessary and justified in the case of Jerry Sandusky's Scandal. This is, without question one of the most egregious and darkest moments in the world of sports, and the NCAA had to act.I have listed three main reasons below as to why the sanctions were needed and justified. #1: The weight of the scandal warranted swift and strong response from NCAA The Jerry Sandusky Scandal was without question one of the most disturbing scandals ever, in sports or otherwise. Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of 45 sexual abuse charges (charged with 48) from victims dating from 1998 to 2009 (possibly more going back to 70's). (1) This far outweighs the OJ murder, the SMU player paying, and even the Michael Vick dog fighting. Now had this merely been a case about a secretive coach doing horrid things under the radar, No punishments would be needed. What makes it truly despicable was the Watergate-esque cover up that went all the way to the top. "the Freeh Report…concluded that ‘four of the most powerful people at The Pennsylvania State University,… failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade" (2) these four included Joe Paterno, the athletic director, a senior vice president, and even the president of the university were all knowingly ignoring Sandusky's child raping. (2) What happened here was a cycle of corruption that the head of the university had been in on. After the Freeh Report came out, the NCAA had to do something. There was not only public outrage against Penn State, but the NCAA is responsible for its member institutions, and the discipline of such. For the NCAA to do nothing, there would have been terrible backlash from every direction (except from Penn State of course).The NCAA had to show some muscle in this situation. What would have happened had the NCAA taken lesser or no measures? Penn State would get a slap on the wrist and be sent free. And that would have been as outrageous as the scandal itself. #2: A precedent had to be established Once more, the Sandusky Scandal was big, dirty, and vile. The NCAA had the weight of this scandal on its shoulders, being as one of its member institutions did the deed. The NCAA laid down the law, and they did it for two reasons. One was stated in my first point, so I won't rehash. But the other reason was to set a precedent for how the NCAA handles this type of infraction. An example of this goes back to 1987 in Dallas Texas, home of SMU. That year was cancelled for the slush fund established to pay off their college players. After a decade of recruiting infractions and the lack of action, the NCAA handed down its "death penalty" (3). The NCAA knew that it had to do something with a school that had broken the rules and tried to lie later. And it could not be a simple bowl ban or loss of a few scholarships. They had to bring a hammer (a BIG hammer), in order to show other schools the price of cheating. The NCAA also set a precedent with Penn State. To every football-ruled university out there, the NCAA showed that covering up atrocities in the name of football will NOT be tolerated whatsoever. Any lighter and the message wouldn't have resonated. The NCAA exacted fair punishment on Penn State, when considering what had been done, and what needed to never happen again. #3 There was too much "cult" in Penn State's football culture Penn State is a football school, hands down, no question. That is not a crime, as many schools are such. (like Alabama, Ohio State, USC, etc.) Yet one terrifying aspect of this school was the cult that created this problem in the first place. Football was too powerful. Normally, at a relatively sane school, once a non-athletic faculty member found out about the acts, it would have been reported and punitive measures taken. Yet, Penn State is no sane university. Paterno was a veritable Stalin at University Park. He had been coach since the mid 60's, and had established himself as a god of some sort. In other unrelated cases, he told the president of the university not to punish his players. Where else can a coach simply tell the head of the university what it can and cannot do? And, when it was discovered what Paterno had indeed known, who did the fans side with? Their JoePa, instead of the trail of human wreckage left behind because of him. And when his statue was rightfully torn down (It was like having a statue of Charlie Manson or Jim Jones), students lined the street chanting "We are…Penn State". These NCAA sanctions helped to bring this university, its students, and its crazy fans back down to earth. They needed a wake up call, that this scandal was bigger than football, and these sanctions in effect torpedoed the football program. Now, the Nittany Lion nation will have to realize, with its football program out of the way, that there are more important things than football. It also did a good job of awakening the eyes of many to Joe Paterno's legacy. Many had viewed him (myself included) as a spunky, hilarious, and even kindly old man. Yet, in the wake of this candal, it was obvious to everyone that he had a few dark secrets. Well, everyone except Penn State fans and students who cheered him on when we were discovering more and more of the cover up. The removal of the wins from Joe Paterno's name was necessary to tarnish his once Jesus-level image. While it may seem unnecessary, I would be outraged that a man who protected a child rapist from punitive action in the name of football would be celebrated as the winningest coach in college football history. I had considered debunking a few of the common excuses against the penalties, but I need to let you make your arguments before I attack them. That would be presumptuous, arrogant, and quite frankly rude. That said, I will end my argument here and allow you to begin. Good luck, I look forward to your response. 1)http://en.wikipedia.org... 2)http://www.presnapread.com... 3)http://en.wikipedia.org...