Paterno's legacy may now be damaged beyond repair

Penn State coach Joe Paterno stands on the field before his team's NCAA college football game against Northwestern, in Evanston, Ill., Oct. 22, 2011. / P Photo/Jim Prisching

(CBS/AP) For decades Penn State was considered special, immune from the corruption of college athletics by virtue of Joe Paterno's high ideals, long list of victories and even longer list of graduates.

Now, to many people outside Penn State and even some insiders, that's been exposed as an illusion.

A blistering report released Thursday found Paterno helped hush up allegations of child sex abuse against a former assistant that went back more than a decade, sacrificing the ideals he preached to protect his football program. Paterno, former FBI Director Louis Freeh said, was "an integral part of this active decision to conceal."

"I doubt anybody could have imagined this. In eight months, he's gone from St. Joe to something approaching the devil," said Frank Fitzpatrick, a Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and author of two books on Paterno and Penn State, including a biography last year, "Pride of the Lions."

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"The contrast between the ethical standards we always associated with Joe and the complete lack of them in how this was handled — if what the Freeh Report says is true, and I have no reason to doubt it is, to sacrifice kids for the reputation of a football program, that's pretty despicable. I can't imagine anything more shocking than that."

Jay Paterno, the late coach's son, spoke to CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley Thursday and said that Joe Paterno "in no way or shape or form ever suspected that Jerry Sandusky was a child predator."

Nike announced it was stripping Paterno's name from the child care center at its headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., not even six months after founder Phil Knight drew a thunderous ovation for an impassioned defense of the major college football's winningest coach at his memorial service. There was renewed clamor online to remove Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium, and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan called on Penn State to drop football for at least a year until the university has addressed the failings that led to the scandal.

There could still be more fallout from court cases — criminal charges against two administrators, civil suits from victims of Jerry Sandusky — and the NCAA has yet to decide whether it will weigh in on the scandal or not.

"A statue should be least of someone's worries at this point," Penn State's former star linebacker LaVar Arrington said on his radio show in Washington, D.C. "A name on a building should be the least of someone's worries.

"On the one hand, Joe messed up. Joe was not perfect, Joe was not God. Joe was a person, and he messed up," Arrington said. "On the other hand, if you're looking at everything Joe has done and all the lives he's impacted and all the things he's done ... that still remains as well. So how do you separate the two? I don't know. I don't have the answer for that one, I really don't."

Until last fall, Paterno symbolized all that was right about college sports. His teams won, but he didn't sacrifice his standards to do it. Penn State's graduation rates were impeccable, his players were as good off the field as they were on, and his financial support of the university often had nothing to do with the football program.

Even after the November arrest of Sandusky, the architect of Penn State's ferocious defenses and Paterno's one-time heir apparent, many were hesitant to put too much blame on Paterno or let his one failing outweigh all his good deeds. Paterno acknowledged before his January death that he should have done more after a then-graduate assistant told the Hall of Fame coach he'd seen Sandusky assaulting a child in the Penn State showers in 2001, but insisted he had no knowledge of any accusations prior to that.

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But the stark horror of Freeh's report was impossible to ignore.

Freeh's firm, hired by university trustees to investigate how the scandal happened, found that Paterno, and three other administrators at the time — President Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz — "repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse." Handwritten notes and emails portray Paterno as being involved in a decision by the officials not to tell child welfare authorities about a 2001 encounter, while other emails show Paterno closely followed allegations made against Sandusky in 1998.

At a news conference, Freeh called the officials' disregard for child victims "callous and shocking."

"We should look at (Paterno) as a willing enabler of a convicted child molester," Brennan said. "I absolutely understand and respect the past. The games he won, the number of players he graduated, that's a tremendous record. This supercedes all of that. ... What happened to these children because of Joe Paterno — it's because of Jerry Sandusky first and foremost. But Joe Paterno did not stop it and he enabled it, and that's just tragic."

Sandusky is awaiting sentencing after being convicted last month on 45 criminal counts of abusing 10 boys. Paterno died of lung cancer in January, two months after school trustees fired him for what they called a failure of leadership.

"I always thought he knew. To what extent, that was the only question," said Brad Benson, a former Penn State offensive lineman who won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants. "I thought that anyone who didn't think he knew was pretty naive. Joe knew pretty much everything going on there."

Even Knight acknowledged he had been on the wrong side of the moral divide, though his anguish at the dismantling of Paterno's legacy was clear.

"Throughout Joe Paterno's career, he strived to put young athletes in a position to succeed and win in sport but most importantly in life. Joe influenced thousands of young men to become better leaders, fathers and husbands," Knight said in a statement. "According to the investigation, it appears Joe made missteps that led to heartbreaking consequences. I missed that Joe missed it, and I am extremely saddened on this day. My love for Joe and his family remains."

For those closest to Penn State and Paterno, though, their faith in the coach remains unshakeable. They believe Paterno, though not perfect, is being made a scapegoat, with no way to refute the accusations. Paterno had planned to cooperate with the investigation, but died before he could give Freeh's team his account of what happened.

"It's easy to vilify or blame someone who's not alive to defend himself," said Tim Sweeney, president of Penn State's official Football Letterman's Club.

There is no way Paterno would have covered actions as heinous as Sandusky's up, said Mickey Shuler, who played tight end for Paterno from 1975 to 1977 — regardless of the cost to him or his program.

"Joe Paterno always taught us that whatever you are, be a good one. Whatever you're at, whatever you do, leave a place better for having been there. That's the thing he taught," Shuler said. "So to have people say that he's done something wrong, it's really upsetting."

But that misses the point, Benson said. The lives of at least 10 children have been changed forever, and that is where the focus should be.

"There's no way out of this to make it a good story. It's a shame," Benson said. "But we're being selfish saying it's a shame. It's a shame for these kids. Penn State will recover, these kids won't."

[sayl2012]

Maybe Penn State should get the "death penalty" for a few years!!! Then, when they manage to fight their way back, they can really appreciate what a spotless reputation is all about. Perhaps they will value their reputation enough to protect it from pedophiles and their protectors above and beyond everything else... Sanduski and the people who valued their reputation more than the welfare of the kids that were abused should be held up as an example of a well-respected university gone afoul!! Let's hope that Penn State can learn from this seedy experience and vow to never let anything like this ever happen again!!!!

[rainbowroosie]

Someone please tell his family to stop issuing statements...there's no apology or excuse that covers AIDING A CHILD MOLESTOR!!!!

[Jaylah54200]

I don't think there's any "may" about it.

[merlgrey]

the only legacy paterno has is as an example of total failure of leadership, as well as missuse of power and privilege to protect the false perceptions of his football program.

[midwestkris]

Given the Paterno family issued Joe's "statement" the night before the report was released...I have to believe they had a pretty good idea of what the report was going to say. I understand they loved Joe, and saw in him much to love, and want to preserve their memories. But the time for that is past. His legacy is that he put "reputation" over the welfare of children, and so not only was complicit in the harm that came to children, he also lost the reputation that he worked so hard to protect.

[ZombieRepublik]

Let it be? Let's just move on? Sorry. No free pass for Joe P. I would suggest putting the statue of Paterno that the university is fretting over in a prominent place (the National Mall maybe?) and hanging on it a sign that reads "Moral Failure" or "Betrayer of the Innocent". Paterno is now the poster boy for failure of leadership, and blatant disregard for the welfare of children. We have so many previous examples of the failure of people in authority to confront the epidemic of child victimization. There should never be any doubt in the mind of any official about whether, and how completely, to investigate reports of this kind of behavior. We're not talking about Paterno looking the other way after catching some wide-receiver smoking a doobie. He and the others involved sold those boys out for the sake of his cronies and the reputation of his university, with no concern for what their fate would be. Their emotional lives are damaged, possibly beyond repair. If you don't understand the depth of hurt this sort of victimization creates, educate yourselves! This should be a lesson to anyone who elevates a public figure to this level of godhood. All of Paterno's great deeds are nothing in the face of his betrayal of those boys. That is his legacy.

[Filmguy870]

Ya Think???

[Truth--Tracker]

The fact that Jay Paterno (and many others like him) still doesn't "get it" is as frightening as the lurid child sex abuse scandal itself. Paterno just echoes his father's deadbeat claims that he knew nothing of the Sandusky abuses -- despite the overwhelming, compelling, conclusive evidence to the contrary.

But let's be absolutely clear about what the Paternos are actually arguing (advocating). Profiteering Mentalities like the Paternos believe that "ignorance is bliss" and that ignorance can and should be cleverly, strategically, opportunistically 'orchestrated' and contrived so as to maximize 'opportunities' (profits) and to minimize (if not obliterate) "responsibilities" and liabilities. It's a sociopathic corporate America model -- maximum profits and exclusively allocated it to the corp, while shifting all risks, liabilities and responsibilities to others (like the taxpayers). This is achieved by carefully concocting a shell-game conundrum of confusion as to HOW moral responsibility is allocated in the corp structure via 'job descriptions.'

In short, the sociopathic, narcissistic, self-aggrandizing "Paternos" of the corp world want to be able to argue that "moral responsibility" was not part of MY job description - that responsibility was strategically allocated to someone else - for the specific purpose of shielding ME from potential liability.

Our legal system takes the position that "Ignorance may be 'bliss' - but it won't stand-up in court - YOU WILL be held responsible - contrived ignorance of convenience is NOT true ignorance - moral\legal responsibility canNOT be 'shirked' or shifted to someone else." We should be enormously grateful that our legal system is not so easily duped and defrauded. But we should also be profoundly ALARMED that the greed of the corp mentality is so militantly determined to undermine and decimate the regulations, laws and rules that hold them responsible.

[lloydbest1]

Even Joe Pa admitted he should have dome more.

It's sad, really. Papa Joe was pretty good at his craft. He turned a lot of no-talents into outstanding football players. He made sure most of them graduated and on time. He wouldn't tolerate the shenanigans that many other college level football coaches blew off. He was the face of Penn State and he insisted on a level of ethics from his players that few other coaches did.

Too bad he didn't "walk the walk" come crunch time.

Here's how La Var Arrington, one of many mid-grade football talents Joe turned into something great, put it:
""On the one hand, Joe messed up. Joe was not perfect, Joe was not God. Joe was a person, and he messed up," Arrington said. "On the other hand, if you're looking at everything Joe has done and all the lives he's impacted and all the things he's done ... that still remains as well. So how do you separate the two? I don't know. I don't have the answer for that one, I really don't.""

The unfortunate reality is, fair or not, you are not remembered for your accomplishments or successes as much as you are for your failings and shortcomings.

Joe blew it and now that he's dead, can't do anything about it.

[KnowerseekerReturns]

Well, you can remove his name from his legacies.

[lloydbest1]

Knowerseeker:

WE can and I'm sure we will, but he can not.

[Bertogliat22]

It is everybody's job to report crimes. If Joe even knew of POTENTIAL child molestation he should had immediately told police, not just top officials. Even Joe knew he was wrong.

Now it sounds as if he played a role in covering it up. Sandusky allegedly committed the rape. Joe allegedly helped. I only wish he were here to try to explain his actions. And reap whatever he had coming to him.

Sorry you are in denial.