The decree set forth against Penn State University on the morning of July 23rd may not have resulted in the death penalty many feared or hoped for, but the impact of the sanctions contained therein may well result in what amounts to a life sentence without parole for the now infamous program. Penn State has, for all intents and purposes, been turned out, set to wander the wastes and wilderness of athletic and institutional purgatory, until such time that memory itself has been forgotten and people no longer associate the University with its disgraced coach and the abject failure of his "grand experiment."

The odds of either happening are slim.

Evidence against Penn State "present[ed] an unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem than the values of the institution, the values of the NCAA, the values of higher education, and, most disturbingly, the values of human decency," according to the NCAA's decree.

For the next four years, the Penn State football program may not play in any post-season games, bowls and conference championships included, and the scholarships it may offer players will drop from 85 a season to 65; current and incoming players may transfer and play immediately at other schools, avoiding the typical one year penalty for transfers. Additionally, the PSU athletic department as a whole will be on probation for 5 years, and the university must pay a $60 million fine, equivalent to one year's gross income generated by the football team. Lastly, all wins from the 1998-2011 seasons, 112 in all, including 6 bowl wins and 2 conference championships, have been vacated.

"Penn State accepts the penalties and corrective actions announced today by the NCAA," PSU President Rodney Erickson said in a statement. "With today's announcement and the action it requires of us, the University takes a significant step forward."

There was no other option for Penn State and its leadership. It's that simple.

And while students and alumni may gnash their teeth and shake their fists at the desecration of Saint Joe and his holy records, a shake of the head and a shrug of the shoulders is all I can manage.

One current student was quoted as saying, "It just keeps piling on and on. We are a huge family and this is just a huge blow to our family."

Paterno's family, in a statement released following the NCAA's decree, said, "How Sandusky was able to get away with his crimes for so long has yet to be fully understood. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best. That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sandusky's crimes does not serve justice."

These people, these apparatchiks of the Happy Valley machine, just don't get it. They talk of "piling on" and "family" and "defamation" and "due process" and "abdication of responsibilities" and "justice" as if they are just words and phrases, letters strung together with no actual meaning, to be bandied about with no actual consequence or impact.

Who "abdicated responsibility" between 1998 and 2011? Maybe, if new allegations are proven true, for even longer, as far back as the 1980's, maybe even the 1970's!

Who "piled on" when it came to covering up and obfuscating and hiding the horror that was taking place on their watch?

Where was the "due process" for the victims of Jerry Sandusky's depravations? Where was the "justice"? Lives were indelibly and permanently desecrated, ripped apart and torn asunder. Shattered. What was taken from those victims may never be returned.

What "family" is it that allows such things to happen? And then, gallingly, cries victim when the devil comes to collect his due?

Rest in peace, Penn State. We thought we knew you.

Alex can be reached at cuda24@yahoo.com