Penn State Scandal: Why Skipping Bowl Game Would Be Quite Unfair to Players

It would be incredibly unfair for the Penn State football players to have the opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl or any other bowl game taken away from them as a result of the scandal involving Jerry Sandusky and other school officials.

These players have worked too hard to have their reward for a solid season taken away from them.

Interim coach Tom Bradley recently addressed the possibility of the Nittany Lions not playing in a bowl game. Via the Times Leader:

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"The players and the guys on this team didn’t have anything to do with any of this that’s surrounding them,” Bradley said. “I did address that (with them), because there was rumors flowing around that if we make it, we won’t be able to go to a bowl game. I told them that was untrue.”

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Despite their 17-14 loss to Nebraska last week, Penn State remains at the top of the Leaders Division in the Big Ten conference with a 5-1 record (8-2 overall).

The players have earned this impressive 8-2 record with hard work and good play on the field, and to take all that away because of the actions of school officials would be a joke.

On Thursday, Rose Bowl chief administrative officer Kevin Ash said the following about Penn State and the Rose Bowl via ESPN, "Whoever the champions are," Ash said, "we'll welcome with open arms."

These players deserve to end their season in the best bowl possible. Jerry Sandusky retired from the university in 1999, and it would be terribly harsh to punish the Penn State players for his actions.

If Penn State wins the Big Ten conference, they should be allowed to play in the Rose Bowl and be celebrated for their accomplishments.

It is terribly hard to play football when there are larger issues at being dealt with that are so much more important than sports.

With that said, taking the opportunity for the Penn State players to play in a bowl game this season would just be making this terrible situation even worse, and there's no need for that.