Penn State Sanctions: What Experts Are Saying About Monday's NCAA Ruling

Penn State football could be teetering on the edge of existence after NCAA president Mark Emmert announces penalties levied against the school on Monday at 9 a.m. ET.

These penalties will be coming swiftly, in any context and in hyper-drive—in NCAA context—following the release of the Freeh Report, which added further evidence about the Jerry Sandusky child molestation crimes and the alleged indifference of Penn State officials. Early indications are the penalties are going to be severe.

This move by the NCAA is unprecedented as the organization has historically been more concerned about enforcing its bylaws then getting involved in criminal concerns, and they are doing so without their usual deliberate investigations.

Below are what some sources have written and reported about these upcoming sanctions.

What the Experts Are Saying

USA Today's Mike Lopresti made it clear that he did not feel the death penalty was warranted for Penn State, but also made it clear that severe punishment was warranted and likely on the way. Lopresti:

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By all accounts and guesses, the sanctions to be announced Monday will be severe and long-reaching. Lots of scholarships lost, lots of seasons without bowls. If so, that seems appropriate and ought to be enough to satisfy those who called for a whacking.

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CBS Sports is reporting, from information Armen Keteyian gathered from a source, that the penalties would be "unprecedented." The source also added that, "I've never seen anything like it."

CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd shed some light on just how serious these penalties could be:

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A person with knowledge of the process said there is a way to impact Penn State's competitive ability in football without applying the so-called “death penalty.” That term could be mere semantics by the time the NCAA sanctions are announced according to a source. Penn State, the source said, may prefer the death penalty.

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ESPN is reporting information that certainly falls in line with what was previously mentioned.

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NCAA president Mark Emmert has decided to punish Penn State with severe penalties likely to include a significant loss of scholarships and loss of multiple bowls, a source close to the decision told ESPN's Joe Schad on Sunday morning.

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It is pretty clear that the hammer is coming down on the Penn State football program. While we await the official announcement, let's take a look at what it all means.

The Wrap-Up

Pondering this likely severe punishment, it has to be viewed in the context of serving the greater good. The punishment for the individuals involved is for the legal system to provide.

This is about the NCAA sending a message, and the message they are likely to send here is that this kind of prioritizing of the football program over the bounds of any sense of moral decency will not be accepted.

The Penn State football program was a cash cow for the school, and now the NCAA appears set to effectively strip them of their biggest money maker. This is an important and necessary statement.

While the argument exists that the NCAA could let the school continue to run their football program without severe on-field impacting punishments, but make them donate all profits to places that would help battle child molestation, that is a double-edged sword.

This would still be prioritizing the money a football program makes, it would just be sending it to a different source. And while that would be a worthy and fitting destination for the money, it is not attacking the root of the problem to which these sanctions should be aimed at eradicating.

That is so schools must get back to ensuring that their integrity and morality as an institution should take a back seat to nothing, and that it is not acceptable to turn your back on things that go against this to help protect a football program.