Joe Paterno Passes Away
by Bill C. on Jan 22, 2012 10:29 AM CST
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PrintWe're all going to be talking about it, so let's go ahead and post it here. Links and commentary after the jump.
Self Share: Joe Paterno Dies, And Penn State Tragedy Continues Without Him
It is an inescapable complication of human nature that the same things that give you your most positive traits, also give you your worst. The same aspects of Joe Paterno's personality that made him such a beloved figure in State College, PA, and an admired sports figure around the world -- the same things that made him a leader of men, a wonderful coach, and someone who made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of young men and families -- also let him down. And in the end, both the positive and the negative will be part of a legacy that got infinitely more complicated, infinitely more gray, in the last three months.
Paterno was admired, in part, because he insisted on seeing the best in people. He was celebrated for walking from his house to work, with no bodyguards. He was loved for figuring out how to maximize a player's positive traits, both physical and personal. He believed in himself and his staff, and it gave him incredible perseverance through difficult times for his program. […]
Life and legacy are complicated, and Paterno's is now proof of that. And unfortunately for all involved, another inescapable facet of life is that you do not control when it ends. Paterno expressed the desire to fight, to tell his story, and to assist those who were hurt however possible. And I have no doubt that he meant that. But now the story will unfold without him.
Yahoo.com (Dan Wetzel): Paterno legacy damaged by scandal, but not erased
This will be forever the battle over Joe Paterno’s legacy. A life of soaring impact, of bedrock values, of generations and generations as a symbol of how to live life to its fullest.
The Sandusky case cracked that for some. Ended it. Not for all, though.
Paterno reached too many, taught too many, inspired too many. And for years and seasons, for decades and generations to come, those that drew from his wisdom will pass it on and on. That will be his most lasting legacy.
No, his worst day can’t be forgotten. Neither can all the beautiful ones that surrounded it.
SI.com (Stewart Mandel): Joe Paterno's death modern tragedy for Penn State, college football
If you're a Penn State fan, you're mourning the most important figure ever to grace the State College campus, a man who dedicated his entire adult life to bettering the school and its students and engendered decades of national exposure and admiration along the way. Many of you felt betrayed after learning of Paterno's role in the Sandusky scandal, but that didn't erase your attachment to and appreciation of the man. If you're one of the fans who believed Penn State mistreated Paterno at the end, you're undoubtedly even angrier at the thought that his ouster may have expedited his passing in any way.
If you're a college football fan older than 25 who cares about the history of the sport, this is a sad day for you too, whether or not you have an affinity for Penn State. You may still be angry about how Paterno handled the Sandusky allegations, but you still hold a certain level of respect for the sport's all-time winningest coach and the man who once espoused of The Grand Experiment. You will mark his passing accordingly.
But for many, your opinion of Paterno was irreparably altered the day the grand jury report came out. You feel that Paterno's failure to report Sandusky to the police, thus enabling an alleged pedophile to abuse more children in the years that followed, was so unconscionable that it overrides all the good things Paterno did before and after, on or off the field. Or that it was all a myth to begin with. How will you mark his passing?
New York Times: Joe Paterno, Longtime Penn State Coach, Dies at 85
He had held himself to an exceedingly high standard with what he called his Grand Experiment: fielding outstanding teams with disciplined players whose graduation rate far exceeded that at most football powers. His football program had never been tainted by a recruiting scandal. His statue stood outside Beaver Stadium alongside the legend “Educator, Coach, Humanitarian.”
Former players who succeeded in professional life far beyond the football field had told of their debt to him.
“Look how many go to medical school or law school,” said Bill Lenkaitis, a dentist in Foxborough, Mass., who played for Paterno in the 1960s, then became a longtime center for the New England Patriots. “Look how many become heads of corporations.”
Consider this a Paterno open thread.
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My thoughts
The end will come for all of us one day. The nature of the circle of life is that we all will, sadly, pass away. Sometimes sooner than we ever expect.
It seems weird to say that an 85 year old has passed away too soon, and yet for some reason I can’t seem to help but shake that feeling now that Joe Paterno has died at the age of 85 from lung cancer.
Obviously, the events of the last two months, and the scandal that continues to engulf the biggest thing in Centre County, Pennsylvania, is the first thing that comes to mind. The events that lead to the retirement/termination of Joe Paterno seemed to be the capper on a truly scandal-ridden college football year of 2011.
To be blunt, it was an abrupt and ignominious end to a great career.
But today just doesn’t seem like a day for that. Joe Paterno was the last of his kind, I think: a true lifer. He arrived in Happy Valley out of Brown in 1950 and didn’t leave his job until November of this year.
61 years as a coach at one school? That is just never going to happen again. Not in this era of college football.
I had the pleasure of living in State College/University Park for three years. Two of those years were among the worst seasons that Penn State endured under Paterno. They were bad. Comically bad. And then 2005 happened, and the great run to the Orange Bowl. You couldn’t help but get swept up in the magic of Penn State football and the love that that community had for the program and the coach in particular.
I saw the man quite often walking near campus. I never met him (although I did almost hit him with my car once). He had his good side and his bad side, and obviously he had his flaws. His flaws might have ultimately led to his undoing.
The word “legacy” is going to be utilized quite often over the next few days in discussions about Joe Paterno; it is unavoidable when you are one of the best of all time in your field. And while the end was ugly and ultimately tarnished his legacy, it did not erase all of the good that he did both on the field and in the community.
Rest in peace, Joe Paterno.
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"I'm not a believer in predetermined fates, being rewarded for one's efforts. I'm not a believer in karma. The reason why I try to be a good person is because I think it's the right thing to do. If I commit fewer bad acts there will be fewer bad acts, maybe other people will join in committing fewer bad acts, and in time there will be fewer and fewer of them" ~ Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
by D-Sing on Jan 22, 2012 10:45 AM CST reply actions 7 recs
Paterno...meh
This was a man who aggrandized such power to himself, who could create such an impregnable fortress, that he could tell his employers in 2002 that he was staying, despite what they wanted. That’s a bad situation.
An 80-something man on the sidelines coaching, even if his last name is Christ, is a lousy idea for many, many reasons…not the least of which is bad judgment when the tough issues come up, like, say, pedophiles hanging around the building.
Props for the millions of $ given to the school. However, his philanthropic legacy can also be viewed as an attempt to create that fortress he could not be dislodged from (see above).
Valuable lesson learned: never put up a statue to a living, working coach who can still play a part in endangering the lives and safety of children.
by spiderman on Jan 22, 2012 10:54 AM CST reply actions 3 recs
I'll tread carefully in paying my respects to Joe Paterno, since I'm not the smartest or most eloquent
Joe Paterno is before my time really and outside the scope of my understanding with regards to what he accomplished. I became aware of him solely as the person most coaches should be, a leader and developer of men. His reputation for doing things in what I considered “the right way” fell in line with the ideal to which I held other coaches.
Sports is not simply about going to the NFL, getting paid to play, or whatever simple assertions people make about “jocks” or “college athletes”. I’ve always viewed playing and coaching sports as a means to instill virtues and morals into people in a way that they could aspire to hold themselves to higher standards. Simply put, sports is not, and never was, just about scoring points.
My tagline is obviously a humorous parody taken from “The Dark Knight” where Harvey Dent, referring to The Batman, says “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” I keep the quote because it reminds me to look for the positives in each person before I pile on the negatives that accumulate through a life time of being a fallible human being in a world eager to tear you down. I hate that Joe Paterno didn’t die a hero because I think if anyone deserved to, it would be him.
RIP Joe Paterno.
You either die a Tiger, or you live long enough to see yourself become a Jayhawk.
X
Football is just a game. But even just a game can change people’s lives. I experienced this first hand, without football I would be a much weaker, much less complete of a person. Every sport teaches a person how to deal with defeat and victory. Every athlete learns how to rise from defeat and will themselves to do better. Paterno helped guide many through this process, and he won games, more than anyone else, in the process. Unfortunately, Paterno became the perfect tragic hero, almost straight from ancient Greece. He was a leader and a teacher, there is no doubt of that. But his one fatal flaw was his undoing. The flaw was greed. Not for money, but power. He was reluctant to leave, to let others take over what he almost assuredly thought of as his school. He helped is grow, gave back to the school, all selfless deeds, but all deeds that cemented his place at the school as well. It was this greed, this inability to let go, that created a place for pure evil to spawn and flourish. As any tragic hero, he is a figure to be remembered and learned from, and I guess that was his one last lesson, to learn to let go, to not let the allure of power overpower you. I am sorry that Paterno had to see his accomplishments, his world fall down around him. But in some ways it is fitting, for he may have taught and led many in the right direction, the right way, but failed to follow it himself. RIP, Joe. But it is the 10 or more defenseless kids you chose not to help that I will remember you for, not for the thousands of already blessed kids you did help.
by MizzouRugby on Jan 22, 2012 11:42 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions
The people here and elsewhere blaming Joseph V. Paterno for the abuse of those children are ill-informed or have some other agenda. At the time of the infamous shower incident, Sandusky did not work for Paterno. Joe Pa reported the incident to his superiors and it is those 2 persons who dropped the ball. Paterno was legally / criminally cleared long ago. If Joe is guilty of anything, perhaps it’s that he loved Penn State too much and was trying to protect the school. Joe was a ‘company man’.
This didn’t stop Penn State from cashiering Paterno, who spent most of his life teaching, coaching and mentoring young men. In addition, Paterno donated millions of dollars to PSU, elevated their public status immeasurably over his tenure, and the university reaped billions of dollars through merchandise sales, football ticket sales, and students who went to Penn State because of their football program.
Many of Paterno’s players played professionally; almost all have a degree from Penn State. Until recently, every player who stayed for 4 years at Penn State either played on a team ranked #1 in the nation, played on an undefeated team, or played for the national championship during those 4 years. His loss, to the college football world and to the greater Penn State community, is immeasurable.
And he deserves better. RIP Joe.
"When among evil companions, try to fit in." - Wild Bill Donovan
Rocky Balboa once told me, "Nothing is real if you don't believe in who you are."
"ill-informed or have some other agenda"
“He (McQueary) had seen a person, an older person, fondling a young boy,” Paterno testified. “I don’t know what you would call it, but it was of a sexual nature. I didn’t push Mike to describe it because he was already upset, but it was something inappropriate to a youngster.”
“I didn’t want to interfere with their weekends, (so) either Saturday or Monday, I talked to my boss, Tim Curley, by phone, saying, ‘Hey we got a problem’ and I explained the problem to him,” Paterno said.
what a great man.
by nickpapagiorgio on Jan 22, 2012 12:43 PM CST up reply actions
remember that Sandusky had access to more victims after this incident
because, following the example of the man they worshipped, grown men passed the buck on Sandusky’s 2002 rape to anyone but law enforcement.
by nickpapagiorgio on Jan 22, 2012 12:49 PM CST up reply actions
You say that as if those
millions of dollars in donations and billions of dollars in merchandise sales are somehow worth the destruction that was laid on even one of the many kids who were sexually abused after Paterno knew explicitly what was happening. No one disagrees that Paterno did much for the kids who were able to advance his own interests. He coached then up and sent them to the NFL, and in return they spread the gospel of Penn State. It was the kids who offered him nothing in return whom he failed so miserably.
Something about Paterno was always offputting to me, even before the scandal. As someone stated above, no one should ever become bigger than the actual organization for which they work. He was so self-obsessed that he couldn’t even retire and leave the team in the hands of his own sons. Delusions of grandeur such as those are not to be celebrated. They are to be eyed suspiciously, and sure enough, there were sinister happenings at PSU that would have come to light with a less controlling figure at the helm.
The bottom line to me is this: had Paterno done the right thing 10 years ago, this would be a footnote to his legacy, and possibly even a point of pride that he stood up for the truly disenfranchised. As it stands, no amount of donations or t-shirt sales can wash away this stain, simply because he didn’t act like a man and do the right thing. Not go to his superiors like the good company man you describe, as if that is an admirable trait. The road to ruin and injustice is paved by good company men. Good company men perpetrate wars and commit atrocities, then hide behind the banner of doing as they were told. There was one solution here, and that was to make the sexual abuse stop at all costs. Period.
by The Detroiter on Jan 22, 2012 12:58 PM CST via Android app up reply actions 3 recs
Paterno preached doing things the right way
You cannot defend him by saying he did was was legally required and nothing more, and that’s just ok, but then go out and say how great he was as a person and teacher.
by MizzouRugby on Jan 22, 2012 12:58 PM CST up reply actions
No
But so much of the narrative seems to be that he “covered up” abuse. He did no such thing.
Criticise him all you want for not doing something himself, but lets not falsify a stick to beat him with.
It just comes down to differences of opinion
To me, if someone is known and perpetuates the image that they do things the right way, then I expect them to be held to that. If they fail, then there is no excuse. You cannot ignore that he created his own little kingdom and was more worried about his own welfare than the welfare of the kids he said to care about so much.
To me it’s simple. Football games and legacies matter much much less than the lives of children
I refuse to be a hypocrite.
I have kept quiet on the JoePa matter from the get go as none of us were there. We do not know all the particulars. I will not condemn the man as he did not do the lewd acts. He told somebody else of a higher authority. Even if he should’ve done something else more than following a chain of command and he does a part in that play, I can not condemn him to the degree that so many have. I have seen, as many of us have, things that will forever live in the pit of my stomach. The guilt of the shoulda, coulda, woulda’s may never go away. If one were judged by all the damn drama queen, Nancy Grace’s out there, we would or could go to hell for something.
I am saddened for a man to die on his death bed knowing the world hated him while anything good gets swept away…until the guilt of the media write something good after the fact.
Rest in Peace Joe Paterno.
by McZou on Jan 22, 2012 1:13 PM CST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
he told authorities within the organization that he throughly controlled
after waiting a couple days to avoid ruining their weekend. his total lack of leadership and judgment enabled Sandusky to molest more children.
by nickpapagiorgio on Jan 22, 2012 1:16 PM CST up reply actions
If he "thoroughly controlled"
A flagship state university, a public ivy and one of the best colleges in the world by virtue of being the football coach than they should raze the place and start again from scratch.
That’s ridiculous.
the university tried to get him to retire 7 years ago
did they succeed? who wielded the power? the AD or Paterno?
by nickpapagiorgio on Jan 22, 2012 1:37 PM CST up reply actions
The Athletic department
Is not “the university”.
So, what was the time frame was it from when the act was witnessed
Until Joe called on Saturday or Monday?
by McZou on Jan 22, 2012 1:32 PM CST via mobile up reply actions
the difference between you and i
is that you believe that telling athletic officials was the end of Paterno’s responsibility, while I believe he should’ve gone outside the Company to authorities with the power to investigate and arrest Sandusky. your clever comeback assumes that i believe the former.
by nickpapagiorgio on Jan 22, 2012 1:41 PM CST up reply actions
So why aren't you holding McQueary - and Paterno's bosses to the same standard?
Far more blame lies with McQueary – he directly witnessed the crime. His first act should have been to call 911.
"When among evil companions, try to fit in." - Wild Bill Donovan
Rocky Balboa once told me, "Nothing is real if you don't believe in who you are."
by Kpz1234 on Jan 22, 2012 2:10 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
i assert that the blame goes around equally
unless you’re talking about sandusky. obviously the perpetrator is ultimately at the most fault, but ask yourself this: what would i have done? if your answer is anything but “i’d have gone straight to the authorities” then i’m glad we’ve never met. social responsibilities were not met, and that is the most shocking thing about this whole tragedy to me.
What do you have against the ring-tailed lemur?
by threadkiller on Jan 22, 2012 2:48 PM CST up reply actions
"The evil that men do lives after them . . .
. . . while the good is oft interred with their bones." – Brutus’ speech at Caesar’s funeral in “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare.
Some men have demonstatably been totally evil in their lives, while only one has ever been totally good; the rest of us carry with us memories of thoughts or deeds from the past which we would rather not be made public, and memories of noble deeds which we secretly hope are someday revealed. Most men will die with both sets of memories still secretly buried in their breast.
Joe Paterno was not such a person. He was a person who so totally committed himself to a specific task, and so completely applied his every gift and talent to that task, that he was acknowledged nationally as a great coach and a great man. In the process, and under the shadow of, attaining that status, Paterno made an errant decision (or decisions) that would call his character into question late in life.
His unwillingness to take an active role in exposing and correcting the criminal behavior of his former friend will forever taint Paterno’s legacy in the minds of many; but it does not necessarily have to taint the legacy of positive influences he had upon hundreds of young men and women who attended Penn State during his years.
His statue should remain at the university, and in the eyes of those who still admire him – with everyone remembering that every statue has a shadow when the light of absolute truth is shined upon it.
Let both successes and failures speak to the person and character of Joe Paterno as his final legacy, that all who consider his life and death might know and understand that no amount of good accomplished through our lives can remove the damage done by wrong decisions; and no wrong decision should totally obliterate good that is done for others.
57-54-9 . . . get used to it, jaybirds; and let us know when you want us to make it worse. Go Mizzou!
by countrycal on Jan 22, 2012 2:12 PM CST reply actions 7 recs
Nice
Somebody else who reads that blog, and that post. This whole incident is just an example of how we trivialize sexual assault in this country, and it is no coincidence in my opinion that the big stories come out when men (boys) are the victims instead of women. Joe Paterno did a lot of good in his life, but it doesn’t outweigh the children he allowed to be victimized through a moral failure.
Grand Jury Transcript Link
http://www.freep.com/assets/freep/pdf/C4181508116.PDF
"When among evil companions, try to fit in." - Wild Bill Donovan
Rocky Balboa once told me, "Nothing is real if you don't believe in who you are."
I actually believe that Joe Pa was a co-conspirator on the cover up.
I don’t think he just passed the info on to his superiors and left them to make the decisions. I think these three men met, sat down, identified their problem, stated their thoughts on the matter and agreed to a plan on what exactly to do next and all three HAD to be in on it and agree to it for it to work. It points to a coverup to me because that is exactly what the results of their meeting(s) and decisions brought forth.
Its almost as clear as day to me and I wonder why more people don’t see this as not only a real possibility but the most likely conclusion.
Still though, as heartless as it might sound to some, I am not going to condemn that guy as something evil. He did alot of good things during his life and made some big mistakes as well. I do agree with others posting before me that he overstayed his time in his position and I also believe he was a bit of an ego centerened meglomaniac of sorts. Though if I walked in his shoes, I could see myself in the same way as far as wanting to stay involved and keep control over the program.
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