Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Penn State Football Players




I am having a difficult time wrapping myself around the sympathy some people are giving the Penn State football players in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Yes, I get the fact that they are innocent bystanders in the fallout. But it isn’t as if the players don’t have options. The NCAA declared them free agents. The players can play football at any other school right away OR stay at Penn State.

If loyalty means something to a particular player, they will stay. Remaining players will continue to receive an education from Penn State. They will play football for pride and not for Big Ten Conference championships or bowl games (over the four-year ban). I see this type of player who came to Penn State first and foremost for the school, not the football program.

But if a player came to Penn State for largely the football tradition, then that player will probably strongly consider a transfer. The football tradition has received a huge black mark and may even be gone. Penn State will no longer be an elite Big Ten team or a major player on the national scene. Can this player type become satisfied without playing for prizes such as conference championships, bowl games and national championships?

Penn State players have important decisions to make. But they still have choices. We must remember that they aren’t the victims. The true victims have already suffered and will continue to suffer.

If you were a Penn State player, what choice would you make?

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