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| Joe Paterno 1926-2012 |
Joe Paterno arrived at Pennsylvania State College in 1950. It was located thirty miles from the nearest railroad station and you drove there on secondary roads. It wasn’t on a route between population centers, so it wasn’t even a rest stop for travelers. Today Pennsylvania State University enrolls over 44,000 students and is serviced by highways able to move the 107,000 fans who attend Nittany Lions football games.
In 1955 Paterno became the head football coach and turned Penn State into a powerhouse. His teams won two national championships and he holds the major college record for wins. He lived in a modest house on campus and didn’t seek the big money contracts other coaches demanded, preferring to donate millions to the university. In a collegiate sports world where the ideal of “student athlete” is often an oxymoron, Paterno insisted on producing players who earned degrees for 46 years.
Paterno lived by his Christian principles and emphasized the work ethic and the importance of fair play. His integrity imbued the university with a sense of specialness; if you’ve ever met a Penn Stater you know what I mean. Joe shared his sense of decency widely, whether holding the door for a student, calling an underclassman’s cancer-stricken parent or getting out of his car to castigate a student he saw littering. It was an indelible moment for the litterer, who thought it was like being reprimanded by God.In 1955 Paterno became the head football coach and turned Penn State into a powerhouse. His teams won two national championships and he holds the major college record for wins. He lived in a modest house on campus and didn’t seek the big money contracts other coaches demanded, preferring to donate millions to the university. In a collegiate sports world where the ideal of “student athlete” is often an oxymoron, Paterno insisted on producing players who earned degrees for 46 years.
He earned the endearing nickname “JoePa.”
He was an 85 year-old man who dedicated his long life to his faith and the moral pursuit of excellence. Thousands of kind gestures. Generous donations. Untold lives inspired, improved and turned around.
Then, the week after breaking the record for total wins, a former assistant coach was charged with sexual abuse of a child and Paterno was accused of quashing it. The national media and a chorus of indignant, condescending, shrill voices demanded action against him. Within a week, a stellar reputation was torched and a legend fired in a phone call by trustees who didn’t have the decency to tell him in person. They even removed his name from the Big Ten championship trophy.
In 2002 a graduate assistant told Paterno about an incident he had witnessed but withheld the details from him. Paterno followed procedure and notified university officials. He was pilloried for not doing more, but just what did they expect him to do? Appoint himself judge, jury and executioner on the basis of hearsay?
The Bible tells us it’s not our place to judge, and Paterno responsibly turned the case over to those in a position to investigate. Nevertheless the media salivated over the chance to ruin a good man and dogged him with video cameras and microphones, today’s equivalent of torches and pitchforks.
Joe Paterno died last weekend, 11 weeks after the scandal broke. History may well vacate the kangaroo court’s decision, but in the meantime the only judge who counts is no doubt welcoming JoePa with open arms.
Photo credit: dailyherald.com
Thank you for the compassionate post on a great man. Amazing how quickly so many are willing to cast stones.
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