Penn State: Paterno was a Monster, not a Legend
By Rich Donahue
New court reports have revealed former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno knew about Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of child as early as 1971.
Penn State fans won’t be all to talk their way out of this one; at least the ones who still worship the ground Joe Paterno once walked on. You can now say the legacy of this former football coach is now completely tarnished. There’s no reversing it this time.
Including new allegations revealed Friday night, there are 5 new claims of Paterno knowing about Jerry Sandusky’s abuse of a child, twice in 1988 alone. Those were just the ones that were documented, it is frightening to thing there were probably more claims of unreported abuse.
Paterno was viewed and portrayed himself as a man of integrity and high moral standing. In reality, he was none of those things. A man proclaiming to have integrity and morals does not let a monster like Sandusky walk the streets for 35 years so he can prey on more children. But Paterno continued to cover it up, year after year, incident after incident, just to keep the untainted reputation of his precious football program.
The man that people still revere to this day cared more about football than the safety and well-being of children. Every time Paterno looked in the mirror, a monster stared back at him, a man who made a deal with the devil. We make choses in life; his chose was a sickening one.
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When the NCAA considered the punishment for the Sandusky scandal, I was on my soapbox screaming for the death penalty. Many thought that was too harsh of penalty because it would hurt the players more than anything. I understand the players had nothing to do with this and they would be forced to purse their football career elsewhere. I know what the death penalty did to SMU’s football program; they were not competitive for two decades.
The death penalty was for those victims, the ones unprotected by Paterno and Penn State officials, the ones who endured the abuse of an individual who should have been behind bars decades before. It was for them.
Giving Penn State the harshest penalty in collegiate athletics would send a message not to just Penn State, but to the every college sports program. The message was simple, your program is not bigger than the safety, well-being and lives of any individual especially children. Instead, Penn State was given a four year postseason ban, which was rescinded in 2014 allowing them to return to a bowl. The slap on the wrist did not/will not end athletic program’s victimizing the well-being of individuals for the sake of the program’s success and reputation. Maybe they will learn with the Baylor football rape scandal, but I doubt it.
Joe Paterno was one of the greatest college football coaches in history. His 409 wins will never be passed. The games were won by players in nameless jerseys, but they were built on the tears and the cries for help of Sandusky’s nameless victims.
You will never see another ceremony honoring Paterno. You will never see his face gracing a beer can again. There will not be any pushes to bring his statue back. This was the nail in the coffin for Paterno’s legacy, not even his crazy family or Franco Harris can save it now. All Joe needed to do back in 1976 was report Sandusky to the police. He chose not and continued the trend for 35 more years.
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Paterno wasn’t a sagacious, adorning figure. He wasn’t a legend. Joe Pa was a monster, a garbage human being who enabled a child molester. That’s his real legacy