The program shouldn't even exist anymore
Sickening to see Penn State win any games
The problem is again that killing off a program is just too much of an impact financially on the NCAA. The NCAA learned from what they did with SMU and again, watching that documentary, you had a football program that was blatantly skirting the rules and paying athletes. Then the NCAA drops the hammer on them and they lose football for a set period of time after which it returns but with strict penalties. After the season where SMU played zero football, the program struggled to gain relevance for many decades. The so called death penalty absolutely crippled them.
At first I was highly in favor of strict penalties. Penn State needed to be taught a lesson. What happened in the past was a blemish on the program we all thought was pristine. Joe Paterno, the hero, the beloved one, accused of covering up and "only reporting child rape to his superiors
as required by law"? Why didn't he do more?
I agree that he should have done more. But I also don't think they should just scar Penn State for life because of this. This is not something that impacts the current generation of players. From interactions with many Penn State people, they are good people and they love sport. What Joe Paterno did was wrong to put football over human conscience and decency. I agree with that. But why should 2017 Penn State or Penn State after 2013 or whenever he passed away have to deal with the impact of what he did? Why should future generations be marred for life? Many of the people responsible for the cover up have been jailed or fired. Nobody from that era is there anymore. This is a whole new chapter in Penn State history.
And again I would leap on any chance to criticize Franklin (I didn't like his time at Vanderbilt and some also criticize him for his handling of the Vanderbilt rape case) but I am a tolerant person and it just goes to show you what he has done at Penn State to make them relevant again in a long time. I think we need programs like Penn State around to make football damn interesting. You people need to understand as someone who went to State College for a visit as well as other parts of Pennsylvania for travel, Penn State means a lot to these people. Do they take it so seriously that they idolize Paterno as an infallible deity who can do no wrong? Some do, but you will find those bad apples in any fanbase. Most of them realize what Paterno did and most of them are willing to move on. Do they, and the program, not deserve to move on? Must they always be mired in the past as if it were quicksand?