Like 911’s impact on national security, the Sandusky Scandal will add required layers of security for NCAA member schools

NCAA sanctions will put colleges on a new path toward accountability and responsibility

Some might say that our nation’s reaction to the 911 attacks was overkill, especially regarding commercial air travel and the demands placed on consumers. To insure that never again would a terrorist be able to turn a jumbo jet into a flying bomb, layers upon layers of security measures were added. The monetary cost has been staggering, but the rules have been highly effective in thwarting similar attempts and it can be said that countless lives have been saved. No one can argue with the results.

We can expect the same sort of extended reach and tactics by colleges nationwide in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky Scandal and in response to the sanctions handed down by the NCAA on a Penn State institution which not only turned a blind eye to Sandusky and his victims, but knowingly harbored a predatory criminal and his activities over a 14-year period in which young boys were sexually assaulted, some on the PSU campus. The unprecedented steps the NCAA has taken are warranted. That is for certain. The Freeh Report released last week found that Joe Paterno and higher-ups intentionally and methodically conspired to hide Sandusky and his actions from the public and law enforcement in an attempt to protect the football program and school from embarrassment. For this, the school’s administration deserves all the scrutiny and criticism they are suffering through.

The Sandusky Scandal sadly demonstrates the depth to which some institutions are willing to go to protect athletics. Retrospect offers a number of situations whereby administrations, athletic directors and coaches deliberately undertook clandestine plans to avoid detection following unseemly incidents. Yet, those incidents pale in comparison to what was allowed to happen at Penn State. The NCAA’s sanctions deliver a resounding proclamation that athletics cannot be held higher than moral and legal responsibilities. Further, the penalties clearly announce that no NCAA member can circumnavigate the law or forsake their obligations to the students, alumni and communities they serve.

So, what’s next? We can anticipate that like the groundswell of reactions to 911, overkill or not, that colleges will create additional layers of protection and develop stricter criteria and punishments for anyone at any level that elects to hide behind the veil athletics. We can also look forward to well-defined expectations by the NCAA, if not also from law enforcement, regarding how colleges should and must report activities which put the public in harm’s way.

As for Penn State, anyone even remotely associated with the college will have to live with this for years and years to come. There is no avoiding it. A predator was allowed to freely go about his crimes and he was given protection. Jerry Sandusky brought down a proud college and football icon, but both could have stopped him and didn’t. And because of their inaction, State College will never be the same, nor will college athletics.