It comes as no surprise to anyone who has been following the story that Penn State administrators were well aware of and participated in a cover up of former coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children. Sandusky is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of 45 criminal counts for abusing 10 boys.

A just released report includes a series of emails among school administrators following two accusations against Sandusky in 1998 and 2001. The emails make it perfectly clear that top administrators knew about the abuse, yet were more worried about negative publicity for the college and a possible scandal than the abuse suffered by the victims.

The emails also indicate that head coach Joe Paterno was aware of a 1998 case in which Sandusky was confronted about showering with another boy. The Hall of Fame coach died of lung cancer in January at age 85, without presenting his side of the story.

The report follows an eight-month inquiry by former FBI director Louis Freeh, who was hired by university trustees. Freeh concluded that Paterno, president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, and vice president Gary Schultz “failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade.”

Had Penn State administrators acted on the information and banned Sandusky from bringing young boys onto the campus after the 1998 incident, they might have prevented more sexual abuse. Freeh called the officials’ disregard for child victims “callous and shocking.”

The NCAA is considering penalties against Penn State, and the Department of Education is examining whether the school violated the Clery Act, which requires reporting of certain crimes on campus, including ones of a sexual nature.

While the scandal has rocked the university and cost administrators their jobs, are penalties or sanctions against the university enough to change a culture that is out of control? When is society going to gain some perspective on the relative insignificance of sports?

The monetary rewards for collegiate athletes and their universities––and for professional athletes and the billionaire owners who pay them extraordinary sums of money to play a game––far exceed their value and contribution to society. Until we address these issues, we’re going to continue to see deplorable behavior surrounding athletes, coaches, and sports.