On October 3, former PSU Faculty Athletics Representative to the NCAA Scott Kretchmar read a prepared statement accusing the National Collegate Athletic Association (NCAA) as “too heavy-handed with Penn State sanctions.” Kretchmar’s address is available on YouTube.
Professor Kretchmar characterized the NCAA action as a “rush to judgment… draconian penalties issued on insufficient evidence… lack of due process, an organization that does not stay focus on its primary duties… making sweeping accusations about a corrupt culture which is at odds with the facts.”
He also was implictly critical of Penn State President Rodney Erickson for agreeing to the punishments.
After describing the NCAA’s shoddy record, Kretchmar asked: “Why would Penn State case give any reason to place more confidence in the moral authority and administrative abilities of the NCAA.”
According to the Centre Daily in an article titled “Panel: NCAA too heavy-handed with Penn State sanctions” went on to report:
“Five panelists, including Kretchmar, discussed the duties of the NCAA and relationships with its member schools. The panelists included two former NCAA presidents, the Knight Commission’s executive director and USA Today’s assistant managing editor for sports…
“Cedric Dempsey, NCAA president from 1994 through 2002, said Penn State should not have agreed to the consent package that NCAA President Mark Emmert presented…
“Gene Corrigan, former commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA president, said he did not agree with the NCAA’s handling of the scandal within the first few days.
“ ‘I would have come to the school and found every detail I could find about it (the scandal),‘ Corrigan said.”
A posting by Christina M. Thorneycroft described Kretchmar as follows: “Professor R. Scott Kretchmar is one of the leading sports philosophers in the country. He has taught the philosophy of sport for over 25 years and played a key role in making it a legitimate field of scholarship and study.
“He is one of the founding members of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport and recently served as its president. He has also served as the president of the Philosophic Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. He is a professor at Pennsylvania State University in the Exercise and Sport Science department, where he has served as department chair.
“This year he was elected as the president of the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education and is leading the way to making the subject of sports philosophy an important facet of the study of Kinesiology.”
Apparently not addressed by the panel were the influences and pressures that caused Erickson to accept so unfair and “draconian” a settlement. That story has yet to be written. But we are working on it!
