Why, Joe Paterno?
If you're in any way interested in sports, or follow the news, or know someone who does, you have probably heard Joe Paterno's name mentioned this week. During our dinner club conversation last night, talk about "Joe Pa" got a lot of airtime... But why?
Is it because he's 84 and was still coaching a successful Division 1 football program?
Is it because of his D-1 record 409 victories as a head coach?
Is it because Penn State has a real opportunity to play in the first ever BIG (Big Ten) Championship this season?
Um... not exactly.
It is because, for several years, one of Joe Paterno's assistant coaches...
ahem - his heir apparent at the time....
Did something SO horrible that I can't really mention it on this blog. The thought of it disgusts me and makes me want to vomit. And yet several people around the Penn State football program knew this was going on, and apparently....
Nothing... really... was done.
Joe notified the Athletic Director and the President, but not the police. Jerry Sandusky was perhaps talked to... I'm not sure... but he wasn't fired.
And Penn State kept this quiet for at least 9 years, and finally one of the boys and a coach who was a grad assistant at the time of one of the incidents, finally came forward.
Now Sandusky is in jail... and if I have anything to say about will spend a Loooooooooooooooonnnnng time there.
The President of Penn State is out of a job.
And Paterno, whose legacy of wins, two national championships, and remarkable longevity, is now tarnished by... this.
And now instead of being able to retire in dignity, he is fired in infamy.
A thought that I've had all this week, and was discussed at Local Three last night, was "why?" Joe Paterno was already a Hall of Fame coach at the time... he already had two national championships... the library at Penn State was built with money he donated and bears his name. He is literally a "god" in State College.
And ultimately, he goes out in shame because he chose his loyalty to a coach over the safety of these young boys.
And ultimately, he decided that Penn State football was more important than the lives and well being of children.
Period.
And it eventually caught up with him... and now he is paying the price for marginalizing what he should have valued, and valuing what at the time he should have marginalized.
Which is true of every person, regardless of the reasons they didn't work hard (or harder) to make sure this never happened again... whether it was the janitors, or the graduate assistant that came forward this week, or the President. Something was more important to them than what was ultimately valuable; and something was seemingly more important to them than shining light on the truth, whether it was:
a career.
a person.
a program.
a legacy.
This, can I call it?"idolatry" eventually caught up to them. And sadly it has caused a lot of damage.
Unfortunately, the damage caused by idolatry isn't just limited to football programs and children... but why did it take something so horrific to shed light on this fact?
It is truly sad... and I'm sure Joe wishes now he could turn back the clock, reprimand Sandusky, and fire him publicly for these acts. Unfortunately, he can't do that now.
Is it because he's 84 and was still coaching a successful Division 1 football program?
Is it because of his D-1 record 409 victories as a head coach?
Is it because Penn State has a real opportunity to play in the first ever BIG (Big Ten) Championship this season?
Um... not exactly.
It is because, for several years, one of Joe Paterno's assistant coaches...
ahem - his heir apparent at the time....
Did something SO horrible that I can't really mention it on this blog. The thought of it disgusts me and makes me want to vomit. And yet several people around the Penn State football program knew this was going on, and apparently....
Nothing... really... was done.
Joe notified the Athletic Director and the President, but not the police. Jerry Sandusky was perhaps talked to... I'm not sure... but he wasn't fired.
And Penn State kept this quiet for at least 9 years, and finally one of the boys and a coach who was a grad assistant at the time of one of the incidents, finally came forward.
Now Sandusky is in jail... and if I have anything to say about will spend a Loooooooooooooooonnnnng time there.
The President of Penn State is out of a job.
And Paterno, whose legacy of wins, two national championships, and remarkable longevity, is now tarnished by... this.
And now instead of being able to retire in dignity, he is fired in infamy.
A thought that I've had all this week, and was discussed at Local Three last night, was "why?" Joe Paterno was already a Hall of Fame coach at the time... he already had two national championships... the library at Penn State was built with money he donated and bears his name. He is literally a "god" in State College.
And ultimately, he goes out in shame because he chose his loyalty to a coach over the safety of these young boys.
And ultimately, he decided that Penn State football was more important than the lives and well being of children.
Period.
And it eventually caught up with him... and now he is paying the price for marginalizing what he should have valued, and valuing what at the time he should have marginalized.
Which is true of every person, regardless of the reasons they didn't work hard (or harder) to make sure this never happened again... whether it was the janitors, or the graduate assistant that came forward this week, or the President. Something was more important to them than what was ultimately valuable; and something was seemingly more important to them than shining light on the truth, whether it was:
a career.
a person.
a program.
a legacy.
This, can I call it?"idolatry" eventually caught up to them. And sadly it has caused a lot of damage.
Unfortunately, the damage caused by idolatry isn't just limited to football programs and children... but why did it take something so horrific to shed light on this fact?
It is truly sad... and I'm sure Joe wishes now he could turn back the clock, reprimand Sandusky, and fire him publicly for these acts. Unfortunately, he can't do that now.
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