The unraveling of the shameful act by Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator for Pennsylvania State football team, has raised the question whether the institution is healthy for current and future football players to be mentally tough enough to carry on  and have good seasons due to the sanctions given by the NCAA.

In further investigation it was revealed that, Coach Joe Paterno was aware of such actions by Sandusky and did not take appropriate measures; as a result, the legendary coach  statue was taken down.

The Penn State president, Rodney Erickson released this statement “Coach Paterno’s statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our University and beyond, for this reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location. I believe that, if it remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individual across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse.”

Penn State football program has been mentally tough for years and has maintained a clean and healthy image with Paterno being the winningest football coach. The NCAA  vacated Penn State’s football victories from 1998 – 2011 which knocked Paterno out of 1st place in the Division I coaches.  His 409 wins dropped to 298. Penn State will also have six bowl wins and two conference championships erased.

How has this affected the football minds of  athletes who actually played in those games? Adam Taliaferro, played with Paterno and recovered from major injuries sustained on the field, tweeted- “NCAA says games didn’t exist … I got the metal plate in my neck to prove it did..I almost died playing 4 PSU … punishment or healing?!?” He later tweeted: “I truly believe the NCAA should have done something to promote and support healing 4 victims … having hard time understanding everything.” Penn State board of trustees member Anthony Lubrano said he was still digesting the NCAA announcement on Monday, but expressed anger about the process.

This incident has cause a crumbling blow to the football minds of Penn State athletes and football programs across the State. The NCAA hit the university with a $60 million sanction, a four year football postseason ban and a vacation of all wins dating back to 1998. Penn State must reduce 10 initial and 20 total scholarships each year for a four-year period. The Penn State athletic program will be put on a five-year probation and must work with an athletic-integrity monitor of NCAA’s choosing. All current and incoming football players are free to immediately transfer and compete at another school.

The last statement alone will decrease any football confidence the athletes had in the possibility of the program succeeding.

At the news conference in Indianapolis at the organization’s headquarters where president Mark Emmert and chairman Ed Ray were present, Emmert said “In the Penn State case, the results were perverse and unconscionable. No price the NCAA can levy will repair the grievous damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims”.

The NCAA said the $60 million was equivalent to the average annual revenue of the football program. The NCAA ordered Penn State to pay the penalty funds into an endowment for external programs preventing child sexual abuse or assisting victims and may not be used to funds programs at the university.

Child sexual abuse is a crime and it will destroy the mental toughness in any person. It thrives in a climate of silence, secrecy and shame. In majority of cases, child abuse goes unreported due to hesitation and negligence as seen in thePenn State case which had been going on for 15 years.

Many feel that the issue blew out of proportion due to the disheartening ignorance and inaction of Coach Joe Paterno and some beg the difference. At any rate, the damage is done and this has destroyed the mental toughness in many athletes at Pennsylvania State University.

Coach Joe Paterno and Coach Jerry Sandusky once respected coaches will now go down in history as coaches who has affected the mental game of football of many athletes –  past, present, and future.