"People are thrown under the bus, institutions are thrown under the bus everyday for the bottom line. This is no different," Penn State alum Eric Bernier told ABC News.
Every hard-fought victory earned since 1998 by the Nittany Lions, who were coached by Paterno for a total of 45 years, has now been removed — just like the statue of Paterno on the university's campus.
"The wins … we didn't cheat in football, that's unnecessary," Penn State student Alex Gibson said Monday.
The whole affair is one more example of emotional, guilt-induced overkill.
People want to atone for the sins and failures, but nothing that we do after the sins have been committed will ever make up for the wrong that we have done.
Thank God for the Blood of Jesus Christ, whose body bore the punishment for ours sins, by whose stripes we are healed:
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53: 4-5)
"We are healed. . ." this healing has happened, and continues to keep happening.
All our sins are fully punishment, with the restoration soon to follow, if we only believe on Him whom God the Father has sent (John 6: 29)
Punishing the football players who earned those wins does not serve anyone. Joe Paterno and the Penn State leadership failed to protect children and to hold a child abuser accountable. The football players and the other coaching staff played well, and their victories do not dishonor those victimized and unprotected.
In fact, the Penn State administrators are fooling themselves and defrauding justice if they really believe that vacating past wins can make up for what an abused child, let alone ten or more, when through.
A one-year death penalty, a forced Sabbath rest for the university to reorient its priorities — that was the proper move. . . but to strip previous Nittany Lions of their wins, to sink the work that others had done, this just mocks the justice that was due but never came due.
"And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?" (Genesis 18: 23)
Righteousness is a gift (Romans 5: 17), wickedness is a work (Isaiah 57: 1-2; Galatians 5: 19-21).
What is needed is a rest, no more football, for one year — but do not punish the glories of the past done well to make up for the wickedness done by a few in the past:
"O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?" (Numbers 16: 22)
God poured out His wrath on one Man — Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5: 9). Anything more is a superfluous insult to the grace of God.