Penn State Football Hit with Severe Sanctions: $60M Fine, Championships Stripped
In the wake of the Penn State scandal, the university is left with to deal with severe sanctions from the NCAA, which involves a multi-million dollar fine and the vacating of all wins from 1998-2011.
The $60 million dollar fine is one of the largest in recent history and the money will be used to support programs around the nation that assist victims of sexual abuse
"We certainly hope the fine that's being imposed will allow some serious good to be done," NCAA President Mark Emmert said, adding that "no price the NCAA can levy can change or fix the pain of what Sandusky did to victims."
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In addition to the fine, Penn State will also be banned from participating in Bowl games for the next four years and will lose a total of 40 scholarships during that same period. In what may be the most focused penalty, the late Joe Paterno, former Penn State Football coach, will have his wins vacated from 1998-2011, relegating the all-time winningest coach in college football to 12 on the all-time list. The NCAA's decision will also negate the six Bowl wins and two conference championships won during the same period.
This focused response on Paterno could be based, in part, on an independent report that was recently published. It stated that after the initial discussion of possible sexual abuse in 1998, Paterno, along with other members of Penn State athletics, failed to act on information describing former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of young boys.
Back in June, a jury convicted Sandusky on 45 of 48 counts of child sex abuse involving 10 boys who were abused over the span of 15 years. Sentencing of Sandusky is scheduled for some time in September ,where it is speculated that he will be sentenced to life in prison.
