Joe Paterno is gone, but our struggle with his legacy endures
Statues come in bronze. People are more complicated. (AP photo)
In death as in life, timing matters. Had Joe Paterno died Jan. 22, 2011, he’d have been hailed as the one coach who’d negotiated the murky waters of contemporary college football and left, both his sport and this world, with dignity shining. Every obituary would have included, no further down than the second paragraph, the line: “He did it the right way.”
But Joe Paterno died Jan. 22, 2012, and today every first paragraph is duty-bound to mention of his forced departure from Penn State 2 1/2 months before his death, a departure triggered not because some recruit was given a new car but because a longtime assistant coach was indicted for child sex abuse.
Joe Paterno took two national championships, won more games at the major-college level than any other football coach and never saw his program penalized by the NCAA. Had he died at age 84, as opposed to 85, we would have mourned his passing while celebrating a life lived about as well as is humanly possible. Today the response is more muted and infinitely more jumbled.
We cannot reduce the non-action that cost Paterno his job and a chunk of his legacy to asterisk material; at the same time, we cannot in good conscience say that one mistake, even one of massive dimensions, should outweigh the good done in a life of 85 years.
In the 2 1/2 months between Jerry Sandusky’s indictment and his employer’s death, we’ve had the chance to review our feelings toward Paterno. Was he enabler or scapegoat? Was he a villain for not speaking up louder and sooner, or was he a victim for being shunted aside in the wake of a media storm unprecedented in American sports? Was he a good guy who’d done a bad thing, or was the thing he did — or, in this case, didn’t do — so bad that all claims to goodness were forfeit?
We’ve had 2 1/2 months to reconsider, and we might need 2 1/2 decades to reach any consensus. The allegations against Sandusky triggered such a visceral response that it was possible to hear an ESPN commentator insist that Paterno should be locked away in a jail cell next to his former assistant. For the crime, we can only presume, of not doing the right thing. But if not doing the right thing every moment of every waking hour constituted a felony, none of us would be free today.
The belief here is that Paterno erred because he came to care more about his legacy than about people. The man who’d made “Success With Honor” his credo was handed a loaded choice: Do I speak up, knowing full well that speaking up will stain a program I’ve spent more than a half-century nurturing, or do I keep quiet and hope the storm passes?
Indeed, Sandusky did resign as defensive coordinator in 1999, a year after Penn State investigated him for showering with a minor. (I will never believe thatSandusky wasn’t pushed aside.) But he never quite went away, and it was a 2002 incident — witnessed by then-grad assistant Mike McQuery, who reported what he saw to the head coach — that brought the Paterno and his proud program low.
Maybe if Paterno hadn’t been hailed as a paragon of virtue — if he’d been a football coach of more dubious portfolio — our shock and disappointment wouldn’t have been so pronounced. We expected more of him, but how many among us would have done differently had the loaded choice been ours? (Oh, we can say we would’ve, but virtue is easy to proclaim when it’s not yours on the hook.)
And now Paterno is gone, leaving us more confused than ever. Had he died a year ago, the charges against Sandusky would have still come to light, but they wouldn’t have been placed so squarely on Paterno’s shoulders. He wouldn’t have been fired with two regular-season games remaining in his 46th season as head coach, wouldn’t have precipitated such a debate within us all. Had he died a year ago, the obits would have been easy to write. They just wouldn’t have been complete.
A year ago we’d have canonized this man as St. Joseph of State College, Pa. A year ago we’d have said he did it the right way and left it at that. Today we must rewrite that line to reflect the complexity that enfolded this life the same way complexity enfolds all human life. Today we must say of Joe Paterno: “He did it the right way — except for the one time he didn’t.”
By Mark Bradley
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307 comments Add your comment
Sid
January 23rd, 2012
12:00 am
The plain and simple truth is Sandusky should have been charged years ago. Do you really think his first victim began with his job at Penn State? All of you are still trying to hang this thing on Paterno. Why isn’t anyone questioning why McQueary walked out of those showers and left that boy there with Sandusky, now that is sick.
Robert J.
January 23rd, 2012
12:14 am
It’s a statement of the human condition. The way many of you are posting seems we all assume Paterno was enough of a pervert to know exactly what was going on. My father, RIP, had never even heard of oral sex until Bill Clinton. It’s was kinda funny when he told me but I also felt sorry for his (and mom’s) mundane mattress time. I always figured she was from the Icelandic coast if you know what I mean. But I mention it here only because we can’t assume that Paterno was an enlightened sexual soul. Anyway, I find it difficult to throw this much dirt on a man who wasn’t the first or last to know.
Sid
January 23rd, 2012
12:19 am
football fan January 22nd, 2012 4:22 pm
“But staying on as long as he did was narcissistic and selfish.”
*************************************
…………and maybe he loved Penn Sate and football so much he knew he woud die without it.
Chip
January 23rd, 2012
12:22 am
R I P JoePa
Sid
January 23rd, 2012
12:26 am
Beast from the East January 22nd, 2012 5:11 pm
PSU player,
“Not sure why anyone would make a statement like that if it wasn’t the case.”
**********************************
That coud be the most moronic statement ever known to mankind. Have you considered a career in law……?
Lee
January 23rd, 2012
12:28 am
“…we cannot in good conscience say that one mistake, even one of massive dimensions, should outweigh the good done in a life of 85 years.”
But it wasn’t “one mistake”, was it. Even after the initial allegations about Sandusky came to light, it was Paterno who allowed Sandusky unrestricted access to the Penn State facilities – for several years.
Even after the initial allegations against Sandusky, it was Paterno who allowed him to continue to bring young boys to the showers.
Sorry. Joe Paterno deserves contempt for what he did. He put the reputation of his legacy and Penn State above that of protecting the most vulnerable among us.
Sid
January 23rd, 2012
12:31 am
B January 22nd, 2012 5:15 pm
Paterno admitted to knowing about an assistant molesting a child and just telling authorities is not enough for someone that is in the position he was in.
************************************************************************************
Actually, to be factual, your sentence should read “Paterno admitted to knowing about a FORMER assistant molesting a child”………………………………………..
Had enough
January 23rd, 2012
12:36 am
You want to be a hero.Turn in your dc for child sexual abuse.When you had the chance.He was a great football coach but he didn’t do the right thing.And that will stain his so called legacy.He was wrong in that.
ole timer
January 23rd, 2012
12:43 am
Bradley, you are without a doubt the biggest news whore that ever lived. Let’s understand this, a icon passed away and you are there to pile on. Shame on you, I just hope when you pass away you have more than a few people to morn you. I don’t know if he should have done more, but it appears to me that you should have waited more than a few hours to decimate his name.
Al
January 23rd, 2012
1:07 am
Galgiardi of St. John’s (MN) is the winningest college football coach
Rip JoePa
watched it
January 23rd, 2012
1:47 am
SPOT ON, MARK.. Great piece.
Augusta
January 23rd, 2012
2:25 am
I would just change that last time to, “He did it right – except when it really counted”.
A-Ville Ranger
January 23rd, 2012
4:17 am
Ole Timer, people like you are really the clueless ones about what is important. Who in their RIGHT mind cares about his football legacy or whether he’s ”an icon” ? The shame is on those who still think any of that matters compared to children being raped and it covered up. Bradley actually didn’t go far enough. Paterno might as well have raped every kid Sandusky violated after it came to his attention and he failed to act.
A-Ville Ranger
January 23rd, 2012
4:20 am
RIH Joe Pa.. Roast
A-Ville Ranger
January 23rd, 2012
4:20 am
R.I.H…Roast In Hell.
pass me another Prozac
January 23rd, 2012
6:28 am
Nice article. I myself don’t understand the JoePa lovefest. As the Sandusky scandal unfolds, we find more and more about Paterno that does not portray a particularly flattering portrait. And that’s unfortunate, because he was one of the best college coaches and mentor to young players of all time.
But this legacy is severely tarnished by his knowledge and decisive action (or inaction) in this case. When there is child rape occurring (and YES- that’s what it is in many of these cases, in addition to the molestation allegations), he had a moral, ethical, and legal obligation to act. If he told someone and Sandusky the monster was permitted to continue in any capacity on campus (which he was), then Paterno should have cut him off at the knees and barred him from the program. It can also be argues that it’s logical to assume that these incidents were not reported to law enforcement authorities. 99% of rational people owuld have been screaming this from the rooftops until something was done. You tell another, and another, until something is done. Paterno was well aware of the explosive implications here, and chose to take the coward’s way out. I would bet my paycheck HE KNEW…he knew everything else that went on in his heavy-handed regime, Man, he ran Penn State- and not just the football program.
If one of your children were one of the victims, I bet you wouldn’t think JoePa was such a great guy. Shame on all of them at Penn State….all the way up the food chain.
Ervin Waller
January 23rd, 2012
6:36 am
For once can’t “sports” writers stick to sports and leave the moral issues on the religion page.The media including the sports media tried and convicted these guys before the courts ever had a chance to do so.and did they ever question the validity of the accusers who waited years to bring this out?
GTT
January 23rd, 2012
6:40 am
Seems he made the report on Sandusky to the people who should have handled it, ie gone immediately to the police. However, yes, he should have followed up and when he discovered it hadn’t been handled, he should have gone to the police himself.
For a long time I never liked Paterno. I saw him after a rout of a little sisters of the poor school. The opposing coach said something about running up the score and Paterno cursed him out for it.
Now, I see he did a lot of great things and had one very bad failure. Sad for him and his family.
Cloudodust
January 23rd, 2012
6:40 am
With CJP’s passing goes his story. Guess we’ll have to fill in the blanks to make it fit whatever agenda we hold.
JoePa
January 23rd, 2012
6:42 am
Mark — Do you realize that JoePa brought the eyewitness to the guy in charge of the police (Schultz) and the AD? Don’t you think it was reasonable for Joe to expect that Schultz would do his job? If Schultz does his job, then the Sandusky scandal is not mentioned in your article.
Paula
January 23rd, 2012
6:52 am
Bradley, sadly you have become a member of the TMZ-SPORTS REPORTERS. I have no doubt that you wrote this inflammatory article just to get a reation – a real “journalist” and a decent human being would not be crucifying an individual upon their death. You cannot even leave this man alone at his death. Geez, you “media” idiots act like Paterno was the one who molested these children. Paterno has gotten all of the heat and Sandusky very little. All of you passing judgement on Paterno have no clue if you would have done anything different. Hindsight is great isn’t it
What a rag the AJC has become..
Buckeye
January 23rd, 2012
7:09 am
He beat the dogs in the ‘83 Sugar Bowl!
SEC! SEC! SEC!
Buckeye
January 23rd, 2012
7:12 am
The Big 10 owned Herschel in that game!
History sucks, eh dogs?
Say Whut
January 23rd, 2012
7:17 am
To all of Paterno’s apologists: He should have called the police immediately. He didn’t and furthermore, his inaction, and that of the other Penn State officials, enabled this hoffific and criminal practice to continue. The AD, VP, President, and assistant coach are also complicent.
People will make excuses for him– but those are the facts. What difference does it make how many football games he won?
SuperB
January 23rd, 2012
7:21 am
Buckeye: Too bad you have no clue what you are talking about. Penn State was NOT in the Big Ten and built a big lead– only to almost blow it in a close game. Now, let’s talk about the Capital One Bowl and for that matter, Ohio State’s “impressive” bowl record. By the way, how did the Buckeyes fare this year against a mediocre SEC team?
onlygames
January 23rd, 2012
7:21 am
Paterno will forever be defined by the fact that he knowingly enabled a pedophile to abuse young boys at Penn State athletic facilities for many years.
No victory total of football games or years of self promotion of sham academic standards will ever be able to remove the stain on his name and his legacy as a football coach.
Shame on Penn State.
JB
January 23rd, 2012
7:28 am
Hard to throw all the good things, deeds and lives touched out the window. He made a mistake. Coaching is a fraternity tighter than family. He didn’t do the right thing. But as a major college football coach, he was pretty dang good. Only the people who really knew him will forget the worst.
Observer
January 23rd, 2012
7:29 am
Onlygames pretty much summed it up precisely.
Rob M
January 23rd, 2012
7:30 am
Phil, shut up……..
Snake Doc
January 23rd, 2012
7:31 am
The man ain’t dead 5 minutes and you godless whoores in the media can’t hold your forked tongues five minutes before you have to weigh in with your mindless drivel about what a football coach Paterno was and to also continue eviscerate the man.
Can’t you freaks let the man Rest In Peace for 5 minutes before you continue your character assassinations and destruction of the man?
I’m so sure that the majority of you nasty whoores haven’t been involved some type pf godless atrocity in your lives, however minor, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Oh thats right, you’re liberal arts majors or bed wetters so you commit no sins in your godless freakish eyes.
dan
January 23rd, 2012
7:40 am
Good article Mark. Well put, on all points.
If you would have told me the top 5 worst ways Joe Paterno would have ended his tenure at Penn State, there is no way I could have predicted this. How horrible for college football and Penn State! But there are lessons to be learned from this. The Penn State Scandal proves that the law is alive and well, and in place to protect the innocent. That Justice trumps the greed and political maneuvering that has corrupted our “Too Big to Fail” universities. And that those in positions of power are not above being held accountable for their actions( or lack thereof). Being ethical, as it turns out, does matter. And that makes me hopeful about this country.
Observer
January 23rd, 2012
7:42 am
Hey, Paula (6:52 am)…
I can say for a fact that I know what I would have done if presented the facts that the scumbag Paterno had been presented with.
I would have done more than……wait a day after McQueery told me about the incident in 2002. And then report what he’d been told by an assisstant.
THAT’S ALL HE DID. HE DIDN’T INQUIRE EVEN ONCE AGAIN.
PATERNO KNEW OF SIMILAR ALLEGATIONS AND SUSPICIANS SINCE 1999.
HE DIDN’T PREVENT SANDUSKI FROM COMING TO THE GYM (ALTHOUGH PSU FORBAID IT) …….WITH MORE LITTLE BOYS. AND SHOWERING WITH THEM.
HE DIDN’T FOLLOW UP ON THE INVESTIGATION. EVER.
HIS SILENCE WAS TACIT ACQUIESCENCE FOR SO MANY YEARS AND PROBABLY MANY MORE SHATTERED LIVES OF INNOCENT LITTLE BOYS.
HE WAS AN ACCOMPLICE AT WORST AND AN ENABLER AT BEST.
Leg Humper
January 23rd, 2012
7:43 am
Be proud Mark Bradley. You helped put this man in an early grave.
Micheal Turner
January 23rd, 2012
7:49 am
The man has died. No needs to bash him. RIP JoePa
Observer
January 23rd, 2012
7:50 am
Paterno’s silence was acquiescense.
He was an accomplice at worst and an enabler at best.
He KNEW for twelve years before it came to light this year. And said nothing until an assisstant told him what he SAW. And then Paterno waited a day before telling his upline.
Then he never uttered another word or asked another question. That pretty much sums up the definition of a pile of number two.
bill
January 23rd, 2012
7:52 am
Joe was an egoist who looked down on programs like Alabama and made most of his bones beating up Maryland West Virginia and Pitt. Had he not been constantly talking about doing things the right way I would not feel so bad about him allowing a pedophile to prey on children for 9 years. He can be beatified by the Pope but he still allowed an old friend and his love for something that has no life or feelings to abuse children. If you were 6′4″ and could run like the wind he had your back. If you were some low rent 10 year old he gave your back to his buddy Jerry.
Truth
January 23rd, 2012
8:09 am
Buckeye, how sad that you have to look back 30 years to find something to be proud about with the Big Ten.
Joe Pa’s downfall started in the early 90’s. After 2 nat’l championships in the 80’s, he had a taste of greatness. Then his teams started to slide back into mediocrity, and he began recruiting thugs to compete (remember the rapist he defended as his QB?).
“Joe Pa” was a myth perpetuated by the school and the media.
Gator Mike
January 23rd, 2012
8:13 am
This entire saga is very sad. We should all remember that each of our schools could get caught up in some sort of sordid mess caused by a single slug. Some folks continue to pontificate as if they are “holier than thou” without ever having made a mistake. At times, the press needs to tone it down instead of stiring the pot with conjecture and inuendos. The entire Penn State Family is hurting these days, and piling on is simply disgusting.
Hopefully, none of our schools will ever have to endure this sort of chaos.
All the best.
The Lord
January 23rd, 2012
8:18 am
Joe is with me now.
I judged him not perfect (only one of my children was), but overall I am well pleased with his overall body of work in his 85 years on earth. His judgement be me was a resounding “well done!”
He just walked through the Pearly Gates to his new and better life pain free. I hope you will join him one day.
I love you all,
God
PS: Leave the judging to me!
where was God?
January 23rd, 2012
8:48 am
In ancient Greece this conduct would be the cultural norm.
RCB
January 23rd, 2012
8:51 am
Mr. Paterno most likely suffered from the “we/they”syndrom. He was immaculate in defining his relationships in the beginning and with the outside world. But once someone became part of the inner circle, part of the “we”, he apparantly had a different set of rules. He wanted to protect his own which, in his last words on the subject, he said was what he “thought was right” (meaning he has not changed his rules but is sorry for the result). I suspect a sociologist would call it tribalism. He was protecting the team. He was protecting the school and program. He was protecting the body of his life work. And more importantly, he was protecting his long time friend. Who was part of the team.
This is not unsual behavior. It can and should be easily understood, and forgiven. However, it should never be condoned. One greater than he gave us the parable of the Good Samaritan and commanded us to love our enemies as we love ourselves. No exceptions.
MommyNole
January 23rd, 2012
8:54 am
There are so many people blind to what Paterno’s failure represents. There’s no way he thought the situation was handled when Sandusky was still coming around, bringing boys and using Penn State’s legacy as the carrot. The fact that Paterno already knew Sandusky had “retired” on the heels of being caught showering with a young boy says they knew there was potentially a problem and the 2002 incident should have removed any doubt. Paterno and Sandusky remained close friends. How on earth, with that knowledge or even suspicion, do you remain friends?! How can you stand to look at someone like that ? Paterno says the assistant wasn’t specific about what he’d seen but then went on to say he didn’t know about male rape and couldn’t conceptualize it. How did you know it was rape? I mean rape has a couple meanings but both mean to forcibly take something. I’m sorry about his illness and actually feel sorry for him that he was probably pretty tormented in his final weeks on earth. That’s no way to die but a good man stood idly by and did nothing and that is equally as bad as the person who committed the act. There’s Complicity in silence. Telling the university president and then knowing nothing was done, equals doing nothing. These were kids, people. How do you turn a blind eye to that? How do you not recoil in horror and disgust at the sight of Sandusky? I don’t know what it means that Paterno and others coul still hold conversations with the guy. I hope it’s not part of a subculture of behavior shared by others in this saga. I have to wonder if silence was acceptable because the boys were poor and why bring down the reputation of such a stellar institution for some kids who won’t amount to much, anyway? I believe that’s it . Self Preservation and the culture of poverty.
JackDennis
January 23rd, 2012
8:55 am
I would simply like a translation of Jkidd’s 4:06p post.
Dogfan
January 23rd, 2012
8:58 am
I think the media should be ashamed and embarrassed for its treatment of Paterno. And now at his death you compound your mistakes by refusing to offer a single tribute to this man without tying him to Jerry Sandusky. And most often the Sandusky story has been the most significant part of the “tribute.” The media created the Sandusky story and now ties it around Paterno’s neck rather than the others to who it more rightfully belongs. Shame on you.
Call it like it is
January 23rd, 2012
8:59 am
For evil to prosper, all that is necessary is for “good” men to do nothing
Aquagirl
January 23rd, 2012
9:03 am
This is the best example in the world of why there should be a mandatory retirement age. They let a frail 80 year hang onto power long after he could handle that responsibility. The result was a trainwreck for everyone.
Shug
January 23rd, 2012
9:12 am
I have no struggle whatsoever whith the guy’s legacy. If you were a strong, fast, healthy 18-22 year old and had some football talent, JoePa was a standup, got-your-back kind of guy. As long as you contributed to the program, be you a player, coach, or administrator, old Joe watched out for you. It’s those other people–say, 10 year old helpless boys–who Joe didn’t give the same consideration to.
Paterno was a creep, who led his beloved Nittany Lions with blinders on.
JImmy T
January 23rd, 2012
9:15 am
His legacy is clear? His record of wins and losses is clear. But his legacy has to include the fact that he did nothing but turn his head to the fact that his long time assistant coach was a monster preying on little boys. A grown man molests little boys – on campus, and JoePa couldn’t bring himself to do what needed to be done or his precious legacy might be tarnished. How would you feel if that little boy were you, or your son? A lot different I’m guessing. The lengths we will go to protect our sports Gods is beyond belief.
bucket
January 23rd, 2012
9:21 am
I actually think Bradley did a pretty good job in his article of describing how alot of us feel about Joe Paterno from what we knew of him from a distance. He was a legendary coach who was respected and admired right up until the Sandusky stuff hit the news. Paterno’s actions, or inaction, was inconsistent with everything we knew and had been told about Coach Paterno. That knowledge doesn’t make him a monster or tarnish his accomplishments, but it does leave us scratching our heads a little. In my opinion, those of you who are upset with Mark about writing a column (which is his job) about Paterno’s passing, should be more upset with the college coaches from across the country who wouldn’t touch Coach Paterno with a ten foot pole the last three months, but now are rushing to comment about what a great man he was and how he touched their lives. I’m sure Coach Paterno would have appreciated some public support before his death.
BulldogBen
January 23rd, 2012
9:48 am
This whole “Coach died of a broken heart” stuff from the Matt Millens and Todd Blackledge’s is just overly sentimental. The fact is, he was an 85 year old man with lung cancer who had recently broken his hip. I’m sure the stress of recent events didn’t help but come on.
Many people in the media choose this to be a time of reflection but when talking of his legacy, the term “child rape” should be mentioned every single time. It’s just the way it is.
I’ve also heard apologists talk about how he “didnt’ fully understand what was being told to him by McQueary” and how he was “from a different generation”. If he was so out of touch, he had no right be the head coach of a DI football program.
Sad tragedy on so many levels.