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When College Sports Loses Perspective

The following op-ed was submitted by sports agent Eugene T. Lee.  Mr. Lee is President/CEO – ETL Associates, Inc. and may found on Twitter – @EugeneTLee.

In college towns all across America, intercollegiate athletics – especially college football – play an integral role in the college atmosphere and spirit of a university. Unfortunately, the sordid revelations of the past week in Happy Valley have exposed the most despicable part of big-time college athletics, especially among powerful college football programs.

In the past, college football programs have been sanctioned for offenses such as recruiting violations and impermissible booster contact and punished by the NCAA.  However, the transgressions which occurred at Penn State over the past ten years – if not longer – are shameful and morally reprehensible – a prime example of a college football program that became larger than life.

The Penn State program answered to no one and simply did what it wanted to do.  The failure to report and take proactive measures was tied directly to the institutional “win at all costs” mentality which is prevalent at many of the major Division I programs in the country, including Penn State.  You cannot tell me that the potential detrimental effect on recruiting which would’ve been the direct result of public knowledge and media disclosure of the scandal did not weigh heavily into Joe Paterno’s decision to meet only his legal obligation of reporting the offense to his superiors and do nothing more.

This was a systemic failure to enforce justice and ensure the safety of innocent children from the football team’s former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, an alleged sexual predator. I am saddened and appalled by the fact the alleged abuse continued for at least 7 more years after the incident was first reported to Joe Paterno in 2002.

Joe Paterno met all of his legal obligations by reporting the crime to his superiors, but it is my contention that he had a moral responsibility to do something more. He should not have wiped his hands clean from a felony attack occurring in the Penn State football facility, and all titles aside, wasn’t Joe Paterno really the highest ranking official at Penn State?

The bottom line should have been to protect the innocent victims; instead, the football program and college administrators decided to sweep things under the rug and continue doing business as usual. The “win at all costs” mentality has finally caught up with Penn State and its football program.  The heavy burden of past decisions and failures to act and the countless lives that were affected will be one that Joe Paterno and university administrators will have to live with their entire lives.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.