I think MSU is in a very deserving !@#$ storm. And like Penn State, the administration has been grossly negligent, at a minimum, and quite possibly worse. Heads have already rolled and will continue to roll. What happened to those victims should never have happened, because there were people who were entrusted with roles that allowed it to happen. You can't possibly get to this number of victims without a horrific failure at multiple levels, or a downright cover up.
One of the the important things both for the victims here, and others elsewhere, is to fix this mess, and serve as a warning to help others.
All that said, I am unwilling to jump to conclusions about Izzo's and Dantonio's roles in this, until I see actual evidence (direct or circumstantial) of wrong-doing.
There's a very real problem with collegiate athletics, and EVERY athletics program has it, but it's vastly worse in revenue sports. I would summarize it this way:
There's so much money, that the programs have an arsenal of advocates, compliance, PR, and marketing people, all working against victims to minimize, deflect, obfuscate, and even cover up wrong-doing.
The people involved often lack the courage or ethical back-bone to stop this crap because they're aligned, both professionally and economically, with the program.
That's why you need strong controls, period. And the allegedly responsible people up the chain forgot or ignored this, I'm sure for their benefit.
Find the guilty, and remind them with the hammer they've earned. The victims deserve at least some measure of justice. But at the same time, guilt by association is not justice. I hope they do a thorough investigation, and shine the light of day on what happened. Once they do that, I hope heads roll, and it's a reminder to every organization out there which is entrusted with youth, to take that responsibility seriously, and not just exploit them.
[rant over, for now]
