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GameDay: Put The Penn State Program Out Of Its Misery

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) - The question isn't whether the Penn State football program can be saved, but rather the college institution itself.

For a community whose entire culture revolves around a football team, State College better figure out a way to save the school, the student body, and every person who makes a living off of Penn State.

The death penalty is coming, make no mistake about it, and it should be. I am appalled by those who make arguments against the program's abolition for reasons I simply cannot understand. The end of the football team will have a harmful affect everyone associated with it, and that's unfortunate - but it's also a good lesson. A football team isn't your huckleberry and JoPa isn't God.

I grew up in San Francisco and remember the self-imposed "death penalty" on the USF basketball program, then a college powerhouse, because Quentin Dailey received $5,000 from a donor, assaulted a female student, and, along with teammates, received special treatment that was irresponsible and absurd.

If these transgressions were enough for the elimination of the USF basketball team, what does it mean for Penn State?

The cover-up at Penn State starts at the top and goes from there. There is no where to hide. Paterno is gone, Jerry Sandusky is in jail, and soon to be followed Tim Curley, Gary Shultz and perhaps former president Graham Spanier.

Clean up the mess, starting with the gridiron. Put the goalposts in storage for one year. The poor victims have to live with this the rest of their lives.

See you on TV.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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