I'm not really big on sports, I don't like, play or watch football. But Penn State, Joe Paterno and Jerry Sandusky has been in the news a lot lately and I'd like to include a little note about it here on my blog.
Joe Paterno was with the Penn State University for 61 years and was head coach for 46 of those years. The bottom line here, as I just finished an article that he's 85, in the hospital just upgraded to serious condition with lung cancer, and possibly not long for this world, is that he deserves better than to die fired and disgraced from another man's actions.
The old axiom, a team is like a chain and only as strong as it's weakest link, holds true and in this case it isn't Joe Paterno or even Jerry Sandusky, its the people and Penn State U itself, who fired Joe to protect themselves and the Penn State image, in the end, I see no honor or compassion in their actions, just a bunch of weasily rats trying to cover their asses.
From what I've read in all the articles recently, Joe Paterno doesn't deserve to be remembered in this way and he shouldn't be punished for something someone else did. No one will probably ever really know why it took so many years for Jerry Sandusky to finally be arrested and charged when its so obvious those ten young men accusing him are most probably the tip of the iceburg. You simply don't have ten people accusing you of the same crime if you're innocent. But when I read about the career this Joe Paterno guy has had I just cannot reconcile him being remembered as fired for allowing someone to molest boys. It makes me think they are using Joe Paterno as a scapegoat because he reported what he'd heard to his bosses and then his bosses turned around and fired him for not reporting it to the police. I think Penn State is hoping in firing Joe, that everyone will forget Joe DID report it, even if he didn't do it properly, and that nothing was done about it by Penn State U.
I just wish someone with some compassion and a sense of fairness would try to look at it from Joe Paterno's perspective. He grew up in a time where sexual misconduct like Sandusky's wasn't handled publicly by calling the press and the police. In his time, everyone got together and had a meeting and solved the problem themselves, they either beat the S.O.B. senseless or told everyone very quietly by taking them aside and explaining the situation so everyone would know not to leave children alone with the guy.
Joe also gave his entire life to Penn State an it was a rewarding life for both parties. He coached and inspired thousands of people, made them want to go to college and win with honor. He's got statues of him...how many people have statues made honoring them?
Now in the twilight of his life, he's been fired and shunned by the university to serve their own purposes. I believe the university in tarnishing Joe's career has tarnished themselves far worse and set an example of passing the buck when it comes to blame, the one man above Joe who stood up for him was fired as well. Penn State is teaching all of its faculty, students and alumni that when you do a wrong, you play hot potato, and never accept the consequences of your actions if you don't have to.
Jerry Sandusky is the one who molested the boys.
Jerry Sandusky is the one who expertly hid this for so many years.
Jerry Sandusky is the one who was so bold as to start a charity for boys, so he could have his "pick of the litter".
Joe Paterno found out about Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno relayed this information to his superiors. People all have their own opinion about the technicalities, but he did the right thing, just not in the right way. Joe didn't witness anything, he reported what was reported to him and trusted that his superiors would handle the situation in the most appropriate manner. Well, they didn't.
I think Penn State U should offer to restore Joe Paterno to his position and retire him with the full dignity that he deserves. Penn State should accept full responsibility for..
I hate saying it in the most politically correct way:
not properly educating it's staff and coaches on proper procedure for reporting sexual misconduct with a child,
People understand the true nature of it better when you say it nitty gritty, Anti-Politically Correct:
Penn State, those higher up than Joe found out about Jerry Sandusky in 2002 and did nothing but continued to allow him to bang little boys in the ass for nearly a decade before he was finally caught.
Remember, if Penn State had properly educated everyone, the guy who witnessed Jerry Sandusky abusing the child would have called the police directly that day, Joe Paterno's conduct..or Penn States would never have been an issue.
So unless I missed something Joe Paterno didn't hush ten more years of Jerry Sandusky coaxing boys in perverted acts, Penn State did, Penn State is to blame, not Joe Paterno.
Follow up notes:
After coming back and reading this a short time later, I have a few updates to this. First off, I wrote this saturday night, within hours of Joe Paterno's death later on Sunday morning. Since writing this, I've read an article on Joe's death and I've also read the Washington Post article of the last interview given by Joe Paterno.
The most important thing I'd like to note here is that law enforcement authorities, after speaking with Joe Paterno who voluntarily cooperated, they not only didn't charge him with any crimes, they said he did his job and fulfilled the requirements of the law by reporting it to his superiors. Authorities are going after his superiors with criminal charges. Yet the university spinelessly fired him anyway, using Joe Paterno as a scapegoat in hopes it would assuage the scandal.
I still believe Penn State owes Joe Paterno posthumous amends and an apology for the weasily, ratty thing they did to him. I think anyone who reads his last interview would agree with me. He made $1.08 million at Penn State when the average salary for a head coach is $4 million. (He turned down an offer greater than that early in his career to stay at Penn State and continued to make just $35,000 back in the 60s). I believe that alone says a lot about the kind of man Joe Paterno was. While lung cancer was the clinical reason for his death, it's no coincidence he died just shortly after being disgraced and fired, we all know what really killed him and he didn't deserve that.
I'm just shaking my head at the whole situation honestly people, if Jesus ever came back we really would throw him into "an appropriate mental health facility", and ban crucifixes because they "depict graphic violence and torture".
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