How I'll Remember Joe Paterno

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In the wake of Joe Paterno's death, I'm struggling a little bit with how I feel.

I know Paterno was a fantastic coach, I know that his record 409 victories will probably never be broken, and I know that he has helped to mold many boys into men through his football program.

But I also can't help but feel like that is all completely tainted with his inaction in regards to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

I would never wish a man to rest in anything but peace, and it is not my job to judge him—that's not my intention here.

But when I think of Paterno now, I can't help but feel like his motto of "Success with Honor" just seems like empty words.

I think of the many boys Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing, and how Paterno knew about it, and yet did nothing. And my overwhelming thought is, what if one of those boys was someone I care about?

I have no idea what it's like to be a parent or a sibling, but I have family friends with boys and I've been a camp counselor for kids I really care a lot about. And I beleive if Sandusky was abusing one of them, and somebody with as much power as Paterno had at Penn St. knew about it and didn't do anything, I just don't know that I would be able to let that go.

Do I think Paterno was sorry? Ultimately, yes. But maybe it's because he was a part of an older generation—one that lived through much tougher times than I have ever experienced—that his attitude when the whole scandal was brought into focus just seemed to me like he didn't get it at all. He just didn't seem to understand why everybody was so angry, why it would cost him his job.

I remember reading this statement back in November which said Paterno wanted to "make it as easy" for the Penn St. Board of Trustees as he possibly could by retiring at the end of the season. It burned me up that he could be so arrogant. And maybe that wasn't his intention, but saying "I want to make it easy" made me believe he thought he was above reproach for his inaction. To me, he just didn't understand why he had to lose his job.

If nothing else, the way Paterno's career—and ultimately his life—ended should serve as a lesson to us all. No man is invincible and in some way or another, we are all replaceable.  

Those young boys deserved a better advocate in Paterno than they received. And everyone in the country knew that, because everyone in the country knows Joe Paterno's name. He was—and probably always will be—Penn State. That's why he deserved to be fired—if anyone had the power to end what was happening and make sure Sandusky was arrested, it was Paterno.

So that's why when I think of Paterno now, my mind doesn't go to what he accomplished, but instead what he failed to do. I'm not saying it's right to remember him like this, or that anyone else should, but I know that I will always remember Joe Paterno as a man who failed to do what was honorable and report Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing boys to law enforcement.