10 Steps Penn State Must Take To Begin Healing, Emerge from Inexcusable Scandal

After this unspeakable scandal at Penn State, it's impossible to think anyone can recover. The first thought when we talk about Joe Paterno will be a horrific reminder of what inaction can lead to.

But the university simply can't leave the situation as is. There must be a major overhaul in the way Penn State does things as a whole that shows something like this can never happen again.

It will be a long, grueling process that will no doubt bring several ugly trials and tribulations.

One thing's for certain: Something's got to change.

Erase Memory of Joe Paterno on Campus

Paterno's name is all over the campus at Penn State. He may have been a positive symbol once, with the library named after him and the statue built in his likeness.

But those days are over forever.

Paterno will always be remembered for what he didn't do, not what he did. It's impossible to think otherwise unless you are truly blinded by an irrational love of team.

It's in the best interest of the university's future that Paterno's name vanish from sight. That means the library has to be renamed, the statue taken down and any picture left of him on the walls thrown away.

He is no longer a positive symbol of anything. The sight of him will always bring that sick feeling to your stomach and there's no reason to put people through that any more.

Complete Staff Overhaul

The first step is creating a new foundation for the future. And that involves letting go of everyone, including Mike McQueary.

That also includes coaches and administrators of all kinds. Don't forget trainers and people who worked on the sidelines and even carried water to players. There can be no memory of a single person who, whether directly or indirectly involved with this scandal, can leave any kind of imprint moving forward.

Anyone who worked with the football program of Penn State should be dismissed.

The last thing you want is someone watching your game to point and say, "Look at that guy, he was on Joe Paterno's staff when the scandal happened."

The university may never know how many people knew of this and can't be too sure more names won't be released.

It will be important to change the face of the program immediately and the only way to do that is to bring in all new people to do the job.

Calm Protestors Down

We've already seen the ignorant young Penn State fans cheering their supposed "hero," not understanding what they're doing.

I would bet if half those kids were parents, they wouldn't be there. I know they don't reflect the entire student body at Penn State, but they certainly make the majority look bad.

Someone must break up these protests, whether it's helped by Paterno himself, or a collective university effort. 

If I'm a parent trying to help my child pick a college, it's not going to be one with a bunch of students who worship a man that failed to properly report a serious crime against a child.

It just doesn't look right.

I'd guide my child to a different college, regardless of academics.

End Retiree Priveleges

The fact that Jerry Sandusky wasn't properly reported was one thing, but the fact that even after he was removed from the team in the late '90s, he was able to carry on his alleged heinous crimes on Penn State grounds.

It's clear the university can no longer keep itself open to people not representing the university having full access to the entire campus.

I'm not sure what a retired coach of the Penn State football team gets as a retirement package, but they should have to be held to the same rules as every other person that doesn't work for the school.

Lobby To Change the Law

This one won't be done by Penn State themselves, but certainly the state government of Pennsylvania could get it done.

Currently the law on the book states that a person working for a school must report these kinds of crimes to their superior, but is not required to contact police.

It should be the first priority for the witness of a crime against a child to contact police, and even possibly attempt to stop it.

That's a start to avoiding the bureaucracy that has become reporting a crime at a school. Leave it to the police to handle telling everyone—you just get it to the police.

A law like that would have put both Paterno and McQueary in jail.

Cancel the Rest of the Season

How can Penn State possibly go on to finish this season after all that's happened?

Even the board of trustees couldn't sleep at night knowing the millions Penn State can make if they play in a bowl game.

No attention will be paid to football at all and the sight of a Penn State football team taking the field is a nauseating thought.

Cancel the remaining games and I'm not done there yet.

NCAA or Self-Imposed Ban for Next Season

Teams have been banned for much less serious reasons than this one. That's why I believe it necessary to ban the Penn State football program for an entire season.

The culture of corruption that was mysteriously brewing at the university finally came to light and its despicable results haven't merited the right to play football.

The board of trustees and the NCAA cannot allow this type of widespread behavior in a college football program to go unpunished. It would set a poor standard of accepting these types of hideous human violations.

Seeing as how this might be unfair to the players on the football team that had nothing to do with this, the NCAA should give them the right to transfer without having to wait an entire season to play again.

I think for this case, the NCAA could make the exception.

Give Eddie Robinson His Record Back

It's bad enough baseball is tainted with undeserving record-holders, but now that virus is spreading to college football.

Paterno's disgraced legacy will be rubbed in our face for an eternity, as nobody will approach his 409 wins, which is an NCAA all-time record.

There isn't much that can be done because the NCAA can't take away any of Paterno's wins. Despite it being fact that had Paterno's knowledge of Sandusky's alleged behavior been discovered a few weeks ago, Eddie Robinson would still have the wins record.

In fact, there was at least a window of 13 years for that to happen, so theoretically a ton of wins could have been erased.

Still, that won't happen. And now college football fans will have to live with a morally bankrupt man owning the most important record for college coaches.

Settle Lawsuits Quickly, Without a Fight

The number of victims in this case is still rising. I think that number will grow as time goes on and so will the number of lawsuits that Penn State will face because of their irresponsible actions.

That being said, nobody will have a positive view of the university battling its victims in court for years on end.

It will be an expensive step that Penn State cannot avoid in any way. Therefore they're better off getting through the court process quickly through settlements.

There is nothing to fight here. Barring a miracle there is unquestionable guilt and delaying the inevitable will only continue to keep the scandal at the forefront.

It's impossible to put into money terms how to repay someone for something like this, but it's got to be a lot.

Put Morals First, Not Reputation

Lost in all this is that Penn State's football program is a part of a school.

Where I'm from, schools are supposed to be a safe place for people of all ages, especially the kids who attend them in any way.

A school environment can't be a "wild west" of people who don't care about the well-being of children and allow lewd behavior to go on knowingly.

That's a dangerous climate for any place, let alone a school.

It's time to do what Penn State should have done all along: put morality above all else, including ego and reputation.

Do the right thing, not whatever it takes to avoid it to save yourself.

For example, had the people at Penn State put the welfare of the children over their own selfish desires, this scandal may have never gotten to this point.