Penn State Death Penalty: Current Players Shouldn't Get Punished for Past Issues

Even though the Jerry Sandusky scandal that has rocked Penn State is deserving of punishment, giving the school's football program the death penalty isn't the right course of action. The team's current players shouldn't be punished for what happened in the past.

What happened at Penn State was a system-wide failure at multiple levels. The people who were involved in the mess are no longer in positions of power at the school or on administrative leave. It's almost like a new generation of leaders has been brought in, including head football coach Bill O'Brien.

Penn State has done everything possible to find the root of the problem and has taken steps toward ensuring it will never happen again. That includes allowing Louis Freeh's group access to the school for an in-depth investigation.

Those are all steps in the right direction. They show transparency and an acknowledgment that things aren't supposed to be run that way. The school isn't trying to run and hide while hoping the story just goes away.

Taking football away from Penn State would be like taking basketball away from Duke or hockey away from Michigan. It just wouldn't be the same for the duration of the suspension.

While people on the outside looking in can point their finger at any number of different people for allowing Sandusky's actions to go unreported, guys like Matt McGloin and Silas Redd certainly aren't among them.

Those players and their dozens of teammates would be the ones most affected by an NCAA decision to give Penn State the death penalty, even though they had nothing to do with the scandal.

Don't forget that the Penn State players have already had one season derailed by the incident. The Nittany Lions were 8-1 when the chaos erupted last fall before proceeding to lose three of their last four games.

At this point, Penn State doesn't have much room to complain no matter what the NCAA decides to do. But giving out the harshest punishment possible to prove a point would be a dart that hits the wrong target, players just hoping to be a Nittany Lion.

Although the school still has a lot of work left to do, it's also important to let the healing process begin after a hectic eight-month stretch.

Attending football games on Saturdays during the fall should be part of that process for the players, alumni and fans.