In Defense of Joe Paterno
No one would or should dispute the reputability of former FBI Director Louis Freeh, which is not to say all of Freeh’s conclusions in his investigation of the Penn State pedophile scandal are indisputable.
This defense of Joe Paterno in no way intends to mitigate the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering sustained by the young boys who were molested, raped, violated at the hands of serial homosexual pedophile Jerry Sandusky but is rather intended to provide some perspective on another Sandusky victim.
It must first be said that Joe Paterno was wrong.
It must also be said that Joe Paterno represented all that was good in collegiate athletics today not only because of his 409 victories while he was coaching the Nittany Lions, his 18 bowl victories, his record 37 bowl appearances, his two national championships, his five undefeated, untied seasons, his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or the other awards he received.
His greatest contribution to college athletics was his insistence that his players lead decent lives and actually attend and pass their courses, requisites sorely missing in too many university sport programs.
However, all that went for nought after the Sandusky scandal.
Paterno was wrong in foolishly following established PSU protocol of reporting to his superiors Sandusky’s child abuse but not notifying police. He was wrong in naively trusting that Penn State officials would do the right thing and alert local police of the child rape witnessed by Assistant Coach Mike McQueary. If true, he was very wrong in persuading those PSU officials in 2001 not to notify authorities about Sandusky’s aberrant behavior but Mr. Freeh seemed to draw that damning conclusion based more on supposition than factual evidence.
It was not Joe Pa’s legal responsibility to take further action although it was his moral and ethical duty to insure the officials performed theirs.
That said, his negligence cost Paterno dearly.
At the age of 85, JoePa died of cancer on January 22nd, 2012 just two months after being fired as head coach at the school he deeply loved and which loved him for his character and for 62 years service. People who knew Paterno best believe he died of a broken heart. His family contends Mr. Freeh’s report grossly misrepresented his responsibility in the Sandusky horror.
Fortunately, Paterno didn’t live to see his reputation, his legacy, his life completely trashed by Mr. Freeh’s report nor did he witness the senseless removal of his statue from the front of Beaver Stadium where it had stood for eleven years, a removal completed even before the NCAA announced the draconian punishments to be imposed on Penn State and its football program.
The seven foot high monument erected in 2001 to honor Paterno’s record 324th Division I coaching victory and his “contributions to the university” . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=26920.)
No one would or should dispute the reputability of former FBI Director Louis Freeh, which is not to say all of Freeh’s conclusions in his investigation of the Penn State pedophile scandal are indisputable.
This defense of Joe Paterno in no way intends to mitigate the physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering sustained by the young boys who were molested, raped, violated at the hands of serial homosexual pedophile Jerry Sandusky but is rather intended to provide some perspective on another Sandusky victim.
It must first be said that Joe Paterno was wrong.
It must also be said that Joe Paterno represented all that was good in collegiate athletics today not only because of his 409 victories while he was coaching the Nittany Lions, his 18 bowl victories, his record 37 bowl appearances, his two national championships, his five undefeated, untied seasons, his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or the other awards he received.
His greatest contribution to college athletics was his insistence that his players lead decent lives and actually attend and pass their courses, requisites sorely missing in too many university sport programs.
However, all that went for nought after the Sandusky scandal.
Paterno was wrong in foolishly following established PSU protocol of reporting to his superiors Sandusky’s child abuse but not notifying police. He was wrong in naively trusting that Penn State officials would do the right thing and alert local police of the child rape witnessed by Assistant Coach Mike McQueary. If true, he was very wrong in persuading those PSU officials in 2001 not to notify authorities about Sandusky’s aberrant behavior but Mr. Freeh seemed to draw that damning conclusion based more on supposition than factual evidence.
It was not Joe Pa’s legal responsibility to take further action although it was his moral and ethical duty to insure the officials performed theirs.
That said, his negligence cost Paterno dearly.
At the age of 85, JoePa died of cancer on January 22nd, 2012 just two months after being fired as head coach at the school he deeply loved and which loved him for his character and for 62 years service. People who knew Paterno best believe he died of a broken heart. His family contends Mr. Freeh’s report grossly misrepresented his responsibility in the Sandusky horror.
Fortunately, Paterno didn’t live to see his reputation, his legacy, his life completely trashed by Mr. Freeh’s report nor did he witness the senseless removal of his statue from the front of Beaver Stadium where it had stood for eleven years, a removal completed even before the NCAA announced the draconian punishments to be imposed on Penn State and its football program.
The seven foot high monument erected in 2001 to honor Paterno’s record 324th Division I coaching victory and his “contributions to the university” . . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=26920.)
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