Penn State Sanctions: Why NCAA Shouldn't Give PSU Death Penalty

Penn State's football players don't deserve the death penalty. 

Jerry Sandusky, who was convicted of sexually abusing young boys, deserves the worst of any punishment, obviously. The administration behind Penn State's football program, who kept quiet and let these heinous acts continue to happen, deserve punishment.

But these young athletes who just want to play football for their college of choice, the ones who had no idea what was happening behind closed doors, don't deserve to be punished.

There are ways to make sure all these stipulations hold true, and the death penalty is not one of them.

Fortunately, according to ESPN, that doesn't appear likely when NCAA president Mark Emmert hands out sanctions early Monday morning:

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But Penn State will not receive the so-called "death penalty" that would have suspended the program for at least one year, the source said.

The penalties, however, are considered to be so harsh that the death penalty may have been preferable, the source said.

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This would be the perfect solution to an impossible question because, as we might forget in all of this, we need to remember the kids. 

The Penn State football program needs to be punished. Big time. There's no question about that. It proved to be way too powerful, and as we can see, when an entity gains too much power, horrendous crimes can happen.

But don't take away the program.

These young football players have given 100 percent to this program, and if they want to continue to play for their school, they should be able to at least finish out their careers in Happy Valley. 

The death penalty would take away, in many cases, the players' ability to do exactly what they love. That doesn't seem fair.

Additionally, a death penalty would also result in hundreds of lost jobs. People who work at the stadium, people who run restaurants, bars, etc. around the city and plenty of others would all suddenly be without work. 

Again, even while the Penn State program deserves the worst, the innocent ones in this situation should not be punished. Too many innocent people would be punished as a result of the death penalty.

It sounds like the sanctions about to be put upon Penn State are going to be brutal, and that's the perfect way to go.

If Emmert is going to make the fair decision, he needs to come down as hard as possible on the program, just without actually implementing the official death penalty. 

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