Scandals. We all hear about them constantly whether it be a celebrity scandal, political scandal, or sports scandal. Over the past few years, there have been more and more stories being published regarding college sports scandals specifically. I’m sure you’ve heard about the Ohio State, Penn State, and Rutgers scandals to say the least.
The most recent scandal has related to the Rutgers basketball coach. Former-coach Mike Rice physically and verbally abused players, and he was allowed to continue coaching after the university learned of this until footage was released to the public. Later he along with three other school officials were either fired or resigned because of this scandal. While the story has since blown over, it leads me to question how the university and the players allowed Rice to continue coaching after finding out about the abuse. Another basketball scandal that comes to mind is the Syracuse scandal where former-coach Bernie Fine was accused of sexual assault. Along with that, there is a large drug problem that is being investigated by the NCAA. The scandals go beyond just the staff to the players and related issues.
Then you come to the Big Ten scandals: Penn State and Ohio State. Both of these scandals resulted in large fines by the NCAA and large media coverage as well. At Ohio State, players were suspended for selling memorabilia and awards for improper benefits, but then were allowed to play in the Sugar Bowl. At Penn State, Jerry Sandusky was convicted for sexually abusing children over the course of his time at Penn State as an assistant coach. Both scandals brought horrible light onto the universities which led to the NCAA sanctions against both schools of varying degree. These punishments were put in place to cause a change in the programs and create an example of the universities, yet scandals are still occurring at other universities, like Rutgers.
Why is there so much corruption in these programs? I think it is connected to greed. People are greedy for money and for success. So, coaches and staff overlook some wrongdoings so the programs don’t suffer financially. And players do drugs or sell memorabilia to go further in their careers or earn more money.
Is any of the blame to be placed on the NCAA? Personally, I do believe so because almost every school under the NCAA’s “control” has in some way violated one its many rules, and even after their punishments, it doesn’t change people’s opinions of intercollegiate sports or the programs themselves drastically.
What is the best way to improve intercollegiate sports scandals? It may be better to separate the sports programs from the schools a bit more. Yes, we all love our college sports, but maybe the separation will decrease the wrongdoings occurring in the programs and their connection to the schools. As a result, the academics and reputations of the schools won’t be harmed with scandals. I’m sure that everyone has their own opinion on how scandals should be handled. What are your thoughts?
With all that I have said regarding college sports, I still love it. There are a lot of things that concern me regarding the system, but no matter what, it will always be a part of my life. There are the positives, like the increase in international recruitment and the changes that some of the programs are making to be more financially self-supported. The world of college sports will always be important to a lot of people. I know that I love being a part of the student section in Beaver Stadium (and a couple of times in the Big House…). Nothing will change that I am a proud Penn State student, and I love cheering on my Nittany Lions!
