Lost Legacy–Joe Paterno pictured leaving Penn State on Monday. Paterno was fired by the Board of Trustees Wednesday night as a result of the child abuse allegations that took place under his watch. (AP Photo)
Nov. 9, 2011
Joe Paterno, known to the Happy Valley faithful as “Jo Pa”, will not even be granted the liberty to retire at season’s end. The Penn State Board of Trustees fired the head coach of 46 years, along with university president Graham Spanier amidst an on-going child abuse sex scandal that has stunned State College, Pa.
Paterno had earlier told trustees that they should “not spend a single minute discussing my status.”
To many, Paterno was more than a head football coach, someone who exemplified honor and dignity, a lasting symbol of State College and “Happy Valley.”
But the findings that his one-time heir apparent, Jerry Sandusky, molested eight boys over the course of 15 years, shook the very foundation Paterno spent 61 years building.
“This is a tragedy,” Paterno said in a statement. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
Despite not being accused of any wrongdoing, he has been scrutinized for not taking more action when then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary came to him in 2002 to report he saw Sandusky in the Penn State locker room showers with a 10-year-old boy.
Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, along with vice president Gary Schultz.
Curley and Schultz are now being charged with failing to report the incident to authorities, allowing Sandusky to use the facilities even after he retired in 1999.
Paterno met his legal obligation to report the incident to his superiors, but failed to meet his moral obligation as a human being; to follow up on the serious allegations.
Instead of saying ‘If you’re not going to do something about it, I will,’ Paterno suppressed the memory, leaving it in the hands of his superiors for nine years.
He did not stop Sandusky, and that’s the biggest crime of all. This is not about a legacy. This is not about Joe Paterno as a football coach. This is about innocent children who were abused and forever scarred by the malicious acts of one individual allowed to roam the campus.
No NCAA violations were made. This did not involve a tattoo parlor or a pay-for-play scheme.
This is why Paterno announced days earlier that he would retire at the end of the season; to preserve the little dignity and honor he had left to an otherwise legendary career.
But it’s too late for that. The damage is done. He lit that forest fire long ago, and it stood ablaze for nine years while Paterno refused to oblige to his moral responsibility as a human being.
Paterno put his career and dignity before the victims of child abuse. That is the biggest tragedy of all.