"The hardest part to endure about the squawking is that much of it is based on the same underlying reflex that drove Penn State off this particular cliff"

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/leading-off-penn-state-earned-any-and-all-wrath/

July 23, 2012, 11:33 AM

Leading Off: Penn State Earned Any and All Wrath

By LYNN ZINSER

"To argue Penn State didn’t deserve this on any front is barely defensible. It became the poster child for sports run completely amok, for priorities so skewed that it makes your mind spin. No, Penn State isn’t alone. Yes, those priorities are trampled nearly everywhere in this country. But don’t we have to start somewhere? Isn’t 14 years of child rape in the name of football glory a worthy place to start?

The hardest part to endure about the squawking is that much of it is based on the same underlying reflex that drove Penn State off this particular cliff. It’s the don’t-mess-with-my-games reflex. It wasn’t just Paterno who lost his mind thinking his program trumped the fate of all those innocent boys. It’s an entire sports culture gone over the wall. So whatever you think about the N.C.A.A. and Mark Emmert and all the people saying they overstepped legal bounds and rattled everyone’s Penn State fandom foundation, isn’t it so hard to argue that something had to be done? And if this doesn’t warrant a giganticsomething, what on earth does? Even Penn State absorbed its blow today and accepted it."