This is an installment in the Best and Worst of Sports Scandal chronicling the Olympic Games and the Sandusky scandal at Penn State.
In the wake of the severe sanctions imposed on Penn State by
NCAA President Mark Emmert, commentators have fiercely debated the
justification for the NCAA’s intervention in the first place. Given Sandusky’s conviction and the
devastating findings of the Freeh report was the NCAA simply piling on?
The NCAA typically functions to maintain fairness in college
football and is best known for enforcing recruiting violations and academic
standards. In order to avoid NCAA penalties, most
colleges now have a staff specifically devoted to compliance. Yet conventional compliance offices with
their focus on the adherence to specific NCAA rules are ill-equipped to address
the cultural malaise that overtook Penn State.
The key to understanding why Emmert responded so decisively
is in his November 17, 2011 letter of inquiry to Penn State following the
allegations of Sandusky’s history of blatant abuse. Emmert noted that Article 2.4 of the NCAA
Constitution holds athletic departments responsible for the “character
education” of their participants and that in order to carry out that
responsibility, all those involved in athletics should adhere to moral
principles in all aspects of their operations.
Emmert went on to point out that because coaches are “teachers of young
people,” the NCAA Constitution holds them to a higher ethical standard than
most citizens.
In spite of Emmert’s lofty
moral vision, the NCAA has yet to require any formal preparation for or credentialing
of college coaches. Yet the rationale
for the sanctions clearly broadens Athletic Departments’ responsibility for
their coaches. Coaches have extraordinary power and influence over young
people. As such, they have a
responsibility to not only protect athletes from exploitation and abuse but to
nurture their development.
In punishing Penn State, Emmert
raised the bar for all colleges and sports organizations throughout the
country. Sports organizations from college
athletics to knee-high leagues must replace a culture of compliance with a
culture of compassion. Building a
culture that protects and nurtures children requires they provide coaches and
administrators with the best possible education for their role as moral
teachers.
