Oregon State president and chair of the NCAA Executive Committee Ed Ray: "The message is the presidents and chancellors are in charge.
"The cautionary tale here is, every major college and university needs to do a gut check on athletics' role in the school's culture."
Encouraging words.
Reality and money say otherwise.
During the Monday morning press conference to announce sanctions against Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, NCAA President Mark Emmert and Ed Ray spoke using words that were very admirable.
Ray's suggestive "gut check" probably will resonate with some people -- the people already trying to do the right thing.
Officials and coaches who went to bed last night with a bend-the-rules approach will continue to do so. When such people feel a threat from outside forces, they still will employ a bunker mentality.
That's because the NCAA has not initiated investigations in the past. The organization's involvement usually follows media reports or other information that arises as a red flag.
The NCAA will need to police athletic programs and universities actively to fulfill Emmert's statement that, "football will never again be placed ahead of educating, nurturing and protecting young people."
That, or Emmert should hit the circuit with a stand-up routine.
Penn State penalties
The high levels:
- A four-year ban from bowl games
- Football scholarships reduced to 15 annually for four years
- A $60 million fine to be paid by the university
- Football team stripped of all of victories between 1998-2011
The stance here had been a "death penalty" decision for Penn State to create a true break from the past. But such a decision would have harmed harshly many innocent people within the school and community who had nothing to do with the scandal.
The initial take on the sanctions are this: They do the former, but limit the latter.
The football program essentially will be forced to start over. It will be years before the Nittany Lions recover on the field from what has transpired.
Still, football will be played for fans who want to attend games and a local community that depends on those events.
Even for those not affiliated with Penn State, the crimes, the coverup and the results remain hard to comprehend.
It's all so surreal -- except for the victims.
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