In the fall of 2011, Penn State University was shaken to its core in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

First, the public learned of the horrors Sandusky had committed against young individuals of his very own charity. However, the story blew up to new heights when it was revealed that school officials had known about his actions and still had proceeded to do nothing.

The public called for PSU football to suffer the "death penalty," or an all-out suspension of the school's football program for several years. The NCAA ultimately fined the school $60 million, in addition to a four-year postseason bowl ban, scholarship reductions, and all wins from 1998-2011 vacated. Several years later the sanctions would be reduced and/or lifted, but the message was clear and the damage was done. Several officials of the school were also found guilty and sentenced to jail time.

Jump ahead to this year and we once again find ourselves with a similar issue, though many do not even know of it. On the day of this article being written was the first time I had heard anyone talking about the case, even though it had dated back to 2016.

For those of you unfamiliar with this case, Larry Nassar, the team doctor for both Michigan State and Team USA gymnastics, had been found guilty of sexually abusing more than 150 girls and young women. One of the most famous in the case is Aly Raisman, the very successful Olympic athlete.

On January 24th, the judge sentenced him to 40-175 years behind bars, which is in addition to the already 60-year sentence he will serve for child pornography. While these atrocities are bad enough in itself, many of the victims now claim that the school knew of Nassar's crimes and, again, did nothing.

Up until the time of this article, the media has been quiet on the issue. Worst of all, the NCAA has yet to make a statement on the issue, other than a small announcement that they would be doing an investigation into the matter. In the middle of this article being written, Michigan State's president Lou Anna Simon officially resigned amid growing backlash. The gears are turning, but will they ever equal that of the PSU scandal?

My bet is no. Why, you may ask? Because whether we want to admit it or not, the reaction to PSU was politics. I remember experts saying again and again on camera that this was PSU's first major incident.

Up until then, they had been the epitome of what a college should be with high standards, excellent education, and one of the best reputations in all of America. Yet, PSU had its enemies. Many in the community and outside it were just looking for reasons to attack the school, with even members of the board and trustees admitting they had been looking for a reason to fire beloved coach Joe Paterno for a long time. What ensued was only predictable.

Now, before you rage-quit this article, hear me out. I am not saying that what Sandusky did wasn't horrific and inexcusable. It was very much so. Nevertheless, the sanctions that were given to PSU were overblown and extreme, which even now people are beginning to admit as cracks have been found in the Freeh Report. This is partially why the sanctions were later overturned.

If you need more evidence of this, I would ask you to tell me about the Baylor Scandal. Without Googling it, can you?

I doubt it. Without me saying it just now you've probably never even heard of it. Up until now, were you even aware that Michigan State was under fire for a full year because of this scandal? No, because the media and the NCAA do not care nearly as much. Hence why the sanctions, if any, will be far less than anything Penn State ever received.

You may be asking, why am I writing about this, other than to inform the reader? I make these arguments because I believe that the politics of the NCAA and the media ultimately overshadow the real issue at hand: the victims. I think making an effort to report that one scandal was far worse than the other is inappropriate and inhumane. These powers are more in it for reputations than they are for the justice these victims desperately need.

One of the girls testified that she reported the instance to the school, and the official replied to her that she didn't know the difference between sexual abuse and the average check-up. That is utterly disgusting to hear.

While I always felt that the NCAA was unjust in giving such sanctions to PSU, I do feel that they have set a standard, and if they do not uphold that standard to similar cases, then they have exposed their bluff. We the people should demand investigations and criminal charges if needed. We the people should demand for fines, reduction in scholarships, or other methods of hurting the university. We cannot let the powers at hand define what atrocity is punishable and what is not. We as a society should decide.

The NCAA and the law may very well place sanctions and charges on the school. But if not, we know the truth, and we cannot let justice slip from the mindset of our society.