NCAA Sacks Penn State

In the wake of the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State, the NCAA announced strong penalties against the school including a $60 million fine, barring post-season bowl appearances for four years, and allowing current players to transfer to other colleges. This weekend, the statue of long-time football coach Joe Paterno was removed from outside the Penn State football stadium, reflecting the judgement of the commission looking into the sexual abuse scandal that Paterno was involved in a coverup of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's child rape.

Just as in Wall Street banking, collegiate sports has had a "too big to fail" mentality in which successful athletic programs are protected at all costs, due to their national profile and ability to generate revenues for the college or university. Hopefully this case and the criminal penalties that followed will compel institutions of higher education to ensure that this shameful episode won't be repeated.

(photo: Workers remove statue of former coach Joe Paterno)