Penn State Sanctions: Death Penalty Would Be an Ignorant Conclusion to Aftermath

Look at the big picture.

The NCAA could rain sanctions down on Penn State at any moment. If the university’s punishment is the death penalty, it’d be one of the worst decisions the association has ever made—and that’s saying something.

The Associated Press reported that the president of the NCAA is refusing to “take anything off the table” in terms of punishment, and that includes the infamous death penalty (via FOX Sports).

Michael DeCourcy of the Big Ten Network pointed out the unjust aftermath that a death-penalty ruling would result in for Penn State. He tweeted:

"

If Penn State received or imposed death penalty on FB, 85 scholarships would be wiped out. That's 2.55m worth of free education gone. Gone.

— Michael DeCourcy (@tsnmike) July 18, 2012"

Yes, I just used the word "unjust." That may seem like an unsympathetic word to use when the last thing the double-digit amount of molested children were given over the past decade was justice, but that isn’t the point.

This entire scandal is about the children and the tragedies that they suffered. Screw JoePa’s legacy.

The scandal is about the football team as well as the school. Each played its part in the corruption.

But tell me, where does the death penalty fit into all of it?

Jerry Sandusky is a monster, but he’s in prison. Paterno was a monster enabler, but he’s dead. Please, be rational, competent human beings and ask yourself this series of questions.

Who committed the horrific crimes? Sandusky, Paterno and their Nittany Lion goons did.

Now, do sanctions punish the culprits that committed the crimes?

Does the punishment even prevent the tragedy from occurring again?

If the you can’t insert "death penalty" or your desired consequence into those questions and answer either of them with "yes," then what’s the point of the punishment?

The death penalty wouldn’t inflict pain on Sandusky. It would target some of the very people at Penn State who are ashamed of what took place, some of the very people who shed tears over the children’s sorrows.

If the NCAA pulls the trigger on the death penalty, it’s an insult to every single child that was molested over all those years. What does it do for them? Does it ease their pain with revenge against their assailant?

No. It would only cripple an entire town. Because that’s exactly what those children were hoping for when they mustered up the courage to tell their story.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels