We are STILL Penn State

Working the PSU football game in September

 After the Penn State sanctions given by the NCAA were announced at 9:01 a.m. on Monday July, 23 the top 6 trending topics were #PSU, #PennState, #NCAA, #NCAASanctions, #PSUFootball and #Emmert. The social media world went crazy with news organizations spreading the Penn State sanctions like wildfire and daily Twitter users revealing their opinions holding nothing back.

On Monday July, 23 the NCAA had to make a firm stance that sexual abuse would not be tolerated. And boy did they make the world know it. Let's talk about power and the abuse it has wrought on our university. The power of a few men and their ability to hide one of the worst crimes in college football history. Well, President Emmert of the NCAA showed off the amount of power he holds over NCAA college football programs Monday morning. He made an example out of Penn State causing the country, for the first time since the PSU scandal broke, to empathize with the Penn State community.

However, my problem with the NCAA and Mr. Emmert is their lack of involvement in the college "football culture" prior to Monday July, 23. I have one question for you Mr. Emmert, did you know that Michigan covered up a rape scandal in 2010, Iowa football players were raping girls in 2011 and Baylor covered up a MURDER in 2003? Where were you then NCAA? Of course these are absolutely awful crimes and I would never try to lessen the crimes committed by Sandusky, but my point is the NCAA did not step in during any of those times. Instead, they made an example out of Penn State and not only hurt the current administration that now has to deal with the crippling remains, but they hurt every student athlete at Penn State University.

Let me make myself clear that it's not that Penn State fans think football is more important than the victims, (because that would be absurd) but it is the fact that the two of them are not and should not be related. We can support the victims (as we have by raising over $500,000 for RAINN) AND the support the current PSU football team because those players worked hard to be where they are today and those players had absolutely nothing to do with what one man did over a decade ago.

As Mike Mauti stated in a press conference yesterday afternoon, "This program was not built by one man and it sure as hell won't be torn down by one man." No matter where I am on September 1, 2012 I plan to support the Penn State football players. I support them because they have had to deal with the media hounding them daily since November 2011, they have dealt with opposing football coaches preying outside of the Lasch Building waiting like vultures to pounce, they have faced the loss of a football coach and mentor and they have STILL pledged to stay at Penn State. 

But what makes Penn State STILL Penn State is the fact that although these players have gone through the worst of it they have not only pledged to stay at Penn State and play, but they do not see this as a disadvantage. The Penn State football team and Head Football Coach Bill O'Brien see this as an opportunity to succeed and show the country that we STILL are Penn State.