The NCAA handed down a long list of punishments for Penn State on Monday in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal and the efforts by the school's leadership to cover it up. Many wondered of the school would receive the so-called death penalty, i.e. banning a program from competing for a period of time.
NCAA president Mark Emmert spoke to the decision not to hand down the death penalty for Penn State at the Monday morning news conference. He described the competition ban as "unfair" to the many students and others not involved in the Sandusky scandal.
The death penalty was considered by the NCAA. Emmert went so far as to say that had they gone with the death penalty there would have been additional sanctions as well. From his press conference:
"The executive committee and I would not have agreed to just the death penalty. It would have been other penalties as well."
Though Emmert would not acknowledge it, many believe that the punishments handed down on Penn State are harsher than banning the Penn State program from competition. With a bowl ban, the loss of scholarships and other sanctions, the Nittany Lions' football team will take a long term hit to its fortunes as recruits bolt the school and shy away from signing on with the team.
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