This is the kind of thing I'm seeing on my facebook feed like every single day, sometimes multiple times a day for years now. I'm highlighting it only to keep it separate from my thoughts. You guys already know I'm crazy.
While we're stepping on the neck of the NCAA today, here's what I'd want (note: I have a completely separate list for our BoT which we'll tackle on another day). What's your list of NCAA demands?
1.NCAA retraction and apology for Julie Roe’s contention that "Penn State had great success on the field from 1998-2012 and those wins were based on a pristine image which was a lie. As a result, those wins need to be taken away.”
2.Public apology on national television by Mark Emmert acknowledging that the NCAA was wrong in indicting the entire Penn State culture for the crimes of just one man, Jerry Sandusky. An apology that an overreach in sanctions contributed to a patently false narrative that has unfortunately been cemented in minds across America. And, a plea to journalists, through this lesson learned, that no matter the public outcry, it is far more important to get the story right, than to act in haste. Better to delay the punishment of the correct individual than to hastily punish those who are undeserving.
3.Acknowledgement that the Penn State culture has always been exemplary in its dedication to academics and athletics, noting that the athletic program has NEVER had one single NCAA infraction or violation, and has consistently ranked at the top for athlete graduation rates, as well as highest GPAs/most honors for students across all college sports. Apology to former and current Penn State football players and coaches, former and current staff and faculty, alumni, current students, the greater State College community for unfairly blaming, penalizing and crippling them.
4.Post the NCAA apology PROMINENTLY in the front page of the NCAA website, just as they did the Consent Decree.
5.Establish a new award to be given by the NCAA (with annual input from the Paterno family and a panel of former Penn State lettermen), called the Paterno “Grand Experiment” Award, recognizing one program annually that exemplifies the key characteristics of Paterno’s incomparable philosophy of integrity, academic excellence, athletic achievement, and success with honor.
6.Long-form, one-on-one interview with Mark Emmert on general consumer news programming such as Sixty Minutes or 20/20, expressing all speaking points above. ESPN's Outside the Lines is not good enough.
7.Together with the Paternos, meet with Brian DePalma and Al Pacino and set the narrative straight for the purposes of the proposed Happy Valley movie, ultimately ensuring that Paterno AND Penn State are portrayed in a manner acceptable to both.
That's right. There are people out there that want the world to apologize TO Penn State. It's not enough for some of them to have sanctions lifted and all that. They want the world to apologize to Penn State and acknowledge PSU is just so awesome.
I'd settle for "Maybe we were a tad harsh and shoulda waited longer to really figure things out. Maybe it was a tad more complicated than we thought. But seriously. Things looked really really bad. Now let's wait for the trial".
If I'm the NCAA I'm not making the same mistake twice. I'm like "You're right. There wasn't enough due process. So let's wait for it. Let's go to trial. Let's wait for results."