The fabled Penn State Football program has been challenged over the past several years, leading to the firing of the legendary football coach, Joe Paterno (who subsequently died), the ousting (among other parties) of Penn State President, Graham Spanier, and Penn State Athletic Director, Tim Curley, along with the Vice President of Finance and Business. It is well known that a principal charge against the program was Paterno's failure to effectively report the actions of former coach Jerry Sandusky in molesting a young boy in the Penn State locker room, followed by a history of his continual sexual molestation of boys involving the charity he ran, The Second Mile. The problem was exacerbated when the Penn State Board and officials, advised of the situation, took no effective remedial action.
Sandusky was convicted in court, fined and sentenced to prison (he is appealing). The NCAA imposed sweeping sanctions against Penn State Football, including a $60 million fine, vacating football wins from 1998-2011 (112 wins), a four season post season ban, a four season scholarship reduction, and athletic department probation for five years. The NCAA did not, however, impose the "death penalty", i.e., the requirement that Penn State terminate its football program for one or more years. The report of former F.B.I. Director, Louis J. Freeh (commissioned by the Penn State Board) reported that the failure to stop Mr. Sandusky revealed numerous operational shortcomings of the Penn State Board. The Board and authorities failed to function properly in part because of "a cultural deference" surrounding Coach Paterno and his football program, which dominated University operations and fundraising. In such a case "deference" may be defined as "a yielding of judgment or preference out of respect for the position or wishes of others."
