PSU Penalties: Exactly what the Doctor Ordered

I've been wanting to touch down on this Penn State issue for a long long time now. I think since the first story about Sandusky broke out months back I listened to at least thirty hours of radio and hundreds of opinions on the matter and I really think I could write a book on what I think should have been done/who was responsible. First off, its agreed that Sanduskys a monster and the people who covered up for him deserve punishment. I did not know enough information for the longest time, but it is now confirmed that Joe Pa did enough covering up that he would as well face criminal prosecution if he were still alive. The statue had to be removed, and I will stand by that, but thats another issue that I could touch on for hours. I know the Penn Staters who are so engaged in the school and believe the good that Joe Pa did outweighed this situation but thats a dead wrong statement. He was one of the smartest men to ever coach football and you can believe he knew the wrong in it and that he didn't do nearly enough. He was a man of integrity and doing the right thing, and its safe to say that he knew he didn't do enough.
The main point I wanted to touch on was the penalties and how they touched hundreds of thousands of innocent people. As I feel for them and what the punishment really meant to them, I wholeheartedly agree with the penalties given. This is a situation that is speaking as a precedent directly to the perception that the power of football is bigger than criminal acts. The internal operations of college football are very far from ethically clean as they have been more exposed in the recent past. What has happened on the Penn State Campus has to be one of the most traumatic, inhumane, irresponsible crimes that can occur. And it was covered up. What people need to ask themselves is why exactly was this covered up? It ties directly to the game that was played between the lines. The damage reporting Sandusky to officials would have challenged the public perception, integrity, and just the intelligence at Penn State. Even the act of doing the right thing and confessing that there was a criminal on the grounds would have caused a media uproar. Instead, the mass of power holders in the front offices, including Joe Paterno, decided to cover up the awful actions of Sandusky to ensure some of the best recruits in the country for continued success in the football program, ensure their legacy, maximize profits, and have the centerpiece that pulls in students as well.
So what did the NCAA do by fining, taking away wins, and removing the ability to compete in Bowl Games? The easiest way to answer this question is temporarily take the side of Penn Staters who believe that football should continue. We'll give them all their wins back and allow them to compete in bowl games because the criminals that were involved are being handled by the Federal Government and that is all that will be needed. Now look down the road and think internally at schools that are in similiar situations. Allowing the wins to stand as well and keeping the Lions bowl eligible sends a hard message to those other big schools in the future. I can just hear the board meeting of the head honchos at a powerhouse school discussing a negative situation: "Look, I understand were trying to do the right thing here but the public image of this university is what drives us, and makes us who we are. If were going to march towards a National Championship and continue to maximize our revenue we need to keep up that image. Coming forward with a small crime like this that happens on a daily basis in the United States really isn't going to help us as a whole. I mean look at Penn State, worst case scenario is we get caught and the place gets a slap on the wrist, we'll never lose any wins and well continue to roll on just as we would if we came forward in the first place. I think its worth the small chance of not letting this out to keep on rolling as a University."
There needed to be certain amount of fear put into people who control football programs. If you don't have a punishment that fit one of the worst crimes that ever happened in sports, what's the point of even pretending you have integrity?