Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

NCAA exceeds authority

Smoke and mirrors. That was the intention of the NCAA sanctions on Penn State for the child sexual abuse scandal.

The NCAA, mainly interested in “rebranding” itself, pretended to impose stiff penalties on Penn State.

Actually, the NCAA was determined to make it seem that what happened at Penn State to vulnerable children – the people with power and authority looking the other way in order to preserve the image of the football team – was an isolated incident. This, despite former FBI Director Louis Freeh’s impeccable investigation that clearly established that institutional patriarchy led inevitably to the abuse of children.

I find it particularly egregious that part of the sanctions were to remove scholarships from present athletes, while there was not a mention about the Board of Trustees.

In what way does the NCAA even have jurisdiction? These were criminal acts to be prosecuted in the courts. The NCAA doesn’t require – or even suggest – training on the prevention of child sexual abuse for coaches, players and parents.

To their credit, the Boy Scouts have developed a state-of-the-art youth protection program (see www.scouting.org

/Training/youthprotection.) that incorporates the systemic change necessary to effectively prevent the opportunity for child sexual abuse.

Mary Ann Murphy

Spokane