It Will Take Years Until Penn State Repairs Image

This wasn’t a friendly farewell, but an ugly divorce for the university’s most lovable icon, a town ambassador portrayed as the symbol of Penn State– and nonetheless – was fired for not doing enough to protect the school’s identity.

There are assumptions behind this, assumptions that commenced alleged crimes of sexual assaults involving underage victims, and sadly the non-supporters have pointed their fingers at Joe Paterno, the moral compass of college football – the father-figure of Penn State for 46 years. He was embarrassed in the end, left the game emotionally and became aloof to the game he coached for half a century amid a horrendous sex scandal that has tarnished his legacy.

It’s a tragedy, an unprecedented tragedy that stunned the nation, a horrifying scandal that will always overshadow the old man’s feats and longevity as the winningest coach in Division I history. It’s not about football; it’s about the victims, which is the explanation for Paterno’s firing.

The board of trustees dismissed Paterno shortly after 10 p.m. Wednesday night for not reporting Jerry Sandusky, his former defensive coordinator and pedophile arrested on 40 counts of molesting eight boys.

His firing impetuously triggered a State College riot in the community, where raging protesters gathered in anguish on the streets serenading loudly, angry and saddened Paterno had been fired over the phone – not even given an ultimatum to resign or announce an early retirement.

In reference to Paterno’s cessation, which was grotesque and destructive toward a 46-year affair with a regal football program that crumbled under his decree of bad judgment by refusing to report a crime as the scandal was unreported, Penn State students mobbed the streets and tipped over a news van.

The other night, while the scurrilous, angry Penn State supporters by the thousands waved phones and roared for nearly three to four hours with bullhorns and a series of chants, many raised candles in a candlelight vigil honoring the victims of sexual abuse. It was about the victims, not football, to some. It was about solidarity for the victims, not rioting a community because the legend wasn’t given an opportunity to save his job.

Some were vandals, while others were peacemakers at a somber moment, a time to heal and mourn after the allegations were publicly revealed that stunned the people in the most unprecedented week in college sports, if not the most infamous episode to poison a university in need now of a recovery.

It’s now the time to clean house, purge all the traces of corruption, from a rogue crime that will take years to rid when Penn State is beyond repair after educators enabled a child molester to stain the imagery of an institution suddenly marked by the messes.

There were many, such as the other night cheering happily and were satisfied to see Paterno relieved of his duties, outraged by the incident of sexual activities that involved minors. For many years, it will take time, as many suspect Paterno had much to hide covering up the truth and protecting his longtime friend, to repair from a horrible scandal that ruined Penn State’s program.

Many of whom are mad of the recent allegations, grasp a bad vibe that he condoned the series of sexual assaults happening during his tenure. For what it was, at least for what it seemed, he had been accused as if he was the sexual predator more than Sandusky himself, only for representing everything Penn State symbolizes.

Though he’s still the most beloved senior citizen in a small community that sent much thanks to Paterno for all he has done in his reign as head coach, whether it was serving as a mentor or father figure for children or enriching one of the winningest programs in school history, he is also not taken to kindly by few.

He’s marked forever, not only for not reporting the alleged molestation but for possibly protecting the university’s brand name, or even protecting the university’s revenue and the plethora of scholarships or even his legacy as the teacher grooming young players, all while depicted as a moral compass.

It’s an unhappy ending to a tragic story in Happy Valley, also known as Unhappy Valley in just the past week when the board of trustees was forced to make an immediate culture transition, relinquishing on their longtime football coach and cutting ties with even Penn State president Graham Spanier.

This is much larger than a football program of excellence and an elderly man’s legacy, but it is apparent the Penn State kids don’t understand. The students are simply more concerned with football, than they are in sending their thoughts and prayers to those victims. When the Penn State students rioted at the campus on Horror Night, the irascible people acting like soulless, insensitive protesters in support of Paterno, we saw them dismissing an alleged scandal of madness and humiliation.

Rumor has it that Sandusky “pimped out” young boys from his Second Mile charity. What is unfortunate – and perhaps egregious in all of this – is that Sandusky cost his good friend, Paterno, his job now unemployed for Sandusky’s actions as Paterno ignored the allegations by not calling the police.

The blame falls in the lap of Sandusky in State College, an eerily region of poignant fans emotional in the aftermath of Paterno’s termination. As insanity had grown on that night, blinded by the scandal and overly in love with Paterno, not willing to end the marriage of downfalls, the crowd went insane and yelled, “F— Sandusky! “F— Sandusky!”

Shortly after, they blamed the media, “F— the media!”

Shortly after, they blamed the trustees.

They blamed anyone but Paterno, a beloved figure on Penn State campus. Thousands of kids poured onto the streets, crowding his house to send their thanks and reporters swarmed around his front porch to ask questions. The board of trustees failed to fire Mike McQueary, a Penn State assistant in the center of this scandal as well, but placed him on administrative leave. This was mishandled – and in many ways, it doesn’t make sense if Paterno was fired and McQueary wasn’t when he said he had seen a young boy being molested by Sandusky in the locker room’s shower in 2002.

His reaction was running from the problem instead of resolving the incident, waiting until the next day to call Paterno and meet him at his home. If McQueary refused to call the police and report a sexual assault, then why is he still employed?

Why isn’t he jobless? The favoritism really shows the true colors of Penn State, it really shows that they desire keeping McQueary even though he never called the police. He is, mind you, just as bad as Paterno or even athletic director Tim Curley.

Don’t you agree?

But he is worth credit for reporting an alleged crime to Paterno nine years ago. The saddest thing about it is, he wasn’t fired but salvaged his job. The fact is, Penn State is leery and too worried to fire him in the event he files a lawsuit. This alone, protects McQueary from losing his job, though he was afraid and stayed quiet too long regarding sexual activity at the university’s facilities.

People are horrified, on campus and off campus, over alleged crimes that tragically damaged Paterno’s untouched legacy. People are simultaneously cheering in glee as if he’s the hero, gathering outside of his house and raising honorable signs that read, “We Love You, Joe!!”

This, in hindsight, is all too bad for Penn State and absolutely devastating and, by now, JoePa wish he “had done more.” Surely, he does but it is much too late, now sitting on his couch at home jobless like many other unemployed Americans in our fragile economy. The position of overseeing the athletic department, assigned to Curley who has taken a leave of absence, should not be given to him. When he’s no longer on leave of absence, he should not return to his office.

The leverage was given to Paterno, demanding to keep his coaching gig for decades, until now. He refused to retire, until now. He wanted his way, until now. He had planned to retire at the end of the year, not now.

But he had no choice. It was time to leave, but it’s just too bad it had to end so sadly, so tragically and so ugly with a ruined legacy. As of recently, it was impossible to send Paterno home, away from football, something he loved truly but just allowed his job to slip away from him without taking full control of his program.

Even when the program was perpetuating along in inferiority before finally returning to splendor, he was the lone senior citizen standing on the sideline as a head coach in college football. It was all lost when the allegations came to light that a child molester was roaming Penn State.

This was one way to change the culture in State College, a way to finally get rid of Paterno, an elderly man who can now live the rest of his life, unfortunately with the memories of a sex scandal and his murky legacy.

If he could do it all over again, he would have done more. That’s not an opinion. That’s a fact. As of now, Paterno is done with a crippled reputation, four games before the end of his 46th season at Penn State. This institution, a flagship school, is mired in disarray.

In this case, the university is under much scrutiny, marked for an infamous sex scandal that will always leave behind a stain as it will take years for Penn State to repair its image. This school no longer has power, the cleanest tradition and its meaning. As the school deteriorates slowly, none of the goodness exist – and is another episode of hypocrisy and conspiracy.

Winning won’t cure humanity, not even a sudden upgrade within the problematic institution. Even if Spanier and Curley are gone, the program still needs to relocate a spate of trust. Even if Gary Schultz and Paterno are gone, the school needs to find a spate of hope.

Get used to it. This will take years to repair.

Paterno’s Once Faultless Legacy Turns Rotten

The perception we have of influential figures, especially in sports, too often wheedle the folks to believe athletes and coaches are beyond spotless in situations. Whatever the assumptions we have of Joe Paterno, a legendary head coach who is the winningest coach in Division I football history, he is stuck in the middle of a predicament.

These days, many of whom are dampened and saddened by the allegations of the infamous sex crimes at Penn State, he is in the center of a scandal that seems surreal. A statue stands tall outside of Beaver Stadium that exhibits the iconic figure, mostly deemed as the ambassador of the university and community ever since he arrived to coach Penn State in 1966. That iconic figure, in a culture that has suddenly crippled under his tutelage, is Paterno.

All week heavy talk has surrounded a sex abuse scandal that has incredibly demolished the university and its image, and as much as we’d hate to see Paterno exit with an obscure legacy, it would be very surprising if he survives the rest of the season as head coach. The notion that Paterno’s legacy will be sullied and smeared, when he cemented a feat that seemed untarnished and unprecedented after coaching Penn State for half a century, is conceivable with what’s happening — he rose as a motivational figure and drastically had fallen as a polarizing self.

It’s too sad — upon hearing that Jerry Sandusky, a longtime assistant, was charged with sexually abusing eight boys over a 15-year span – that Paterno is unfairly blamed for the incident of sex crimes. The state of the university, as in any developing scandal that emerges in the public’s view, is leaving folks gathering facts on what really happened, on what he knew, on what more he could have done to stop the sex involvements by the then-assistant.

With all the hysteria, Paterno is betrayed for seemingly keeping the truth veiling and covering the sexual activities that took place under his tenure. He always has a coat and tie, cuffs rolled up and white socks with thick glasses, a trademark that has defined the stylish custodian in Happy Valley.

Just when we were beginning to forecast his place in history – a career built with distinction, remarkable accomplishments and exploits no other coach can replicate in years – the revelations of the horrendous scandal tattered his legacy.

He is older now, and wiser, but he’s been criticized harshly when others are involved in this incident as well, just not being polarized simply because they are not the symbol of what Penn State represents. He is, no matter what the naysayers or cynics believe, the most accomplished coach in the history of college football, yet his place in history is battered by the recent allegations.

What more could he have done to protect the university’s identity? Why didn’t he report the alleged child molestation to police? What does he know??

As much as Paterno is the focal point — becoming the greatest curiosity in a small town that idolizes him — as much as we’d like to know the truth, we may never know if he had knowledge of what had happened. The scandal took another twist on Wednesday for which Paterno, 84, announced he will retire at the end of the season and said that he was devastated.

“This is a tragedy,” Paterno said in the statement while announcing his retirement, which was released Wednesday morning. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

It’s too late.

It’s been a half of century and Paterno has preached achievements, but his legend was damaged sadly by the poor judgment from trustees, the coaching staff and the university’s president. What is still uncertain is whether the school’s board of trustees will force Paterno out the door or allow him to coach Saturday’s game against Nebraska. While few people reserve judgment, others vilify Paterno and graduate/assistant coach Mike McQueary for allowing the sexual assault without reporting it.

The grand jury, regarding this case, said McQueary witnessed Sandusky naked and molesting a 10-year old in the shower in the university’s facilities. He saw him shove his penis into the boy’s butt, and refused to stop it and decided to walk out without coming to the kid’s aid.

By the next day, McQueary took it upon himself and told Paterno, and then Paterno told them, but they ignored it. In fairness, it is essential to hold everyone accountable for acting inappropriately and mishandling a sex crime that went unreported. The other night, while Paterno rested peacefully in his home, students demonstrated their support of the senior citizen and crowded his house at dusk.

Of all the hearsay, Paterno is lambasted strongly by the media, scrutinized and betrayed for not doing enough to resolve the sex issues. The media circus interrogated him and his son, Scott, on Tuesday as Paterno tried to leave his home in peace for an afternoon practice with his players. There’s even been criticism from the Philadelphia Daily News when the headline read “SHAME” with Paterno featuring on the front page.

The university must come forth and dismiss McQueary, and for everyone else associated with Penn State, they should all step down except Paterno. But for the sake of the university, Paterno should not be walking the sideline on Saturday to coach on senior day at Beaver Stadium as it will draw too much of a ruckus with swarms of reporters pontificating and seeking answers at a press conference that will turn into a circus to steal the senior’s moment.

Although this seems silly and Paterno did what he was supposed to do, only not informing the president or authorities, he should take time off and then come back. When he told athletic director Tim Curley, who ignored the allegations and failed to react seriously, he then needed to tell the vice president Gary Schultz and Penn State president Graham Spanier.

This case is agonizing, and now that the culture is distrusted and blameworthy, Spanier needs to have a sense of pride and courtesy and resign. It’s an absolute shame that the general public urges Paterno to carry himself with honor and graciousness and resign by the end of the week, though he’s guilty by association and for actions from his former defensive coordinator. There is no way, in our insane, tangled society, no way will parents send their children to Penn State if this current staff is still directing the football program.

It’s devastating that a fine football program in America, a recognized university has fallen from grace all because Penn State officials mishandled a situation involving children being sexually abused. These allegations are sickening to our stomachs, perturbing our senses, sadly burning our hearts and souls as we are disheartened, stunned and mad to learn that children were molested at an institution.

“I’m so upset,” said the mother of a now 24-year-old identified as Victim Six by the grand jury. “My son is extremely distraught, and now to see how we were betrayed, words cannot tell you.”

Now, I’m getting infuriated over this senseless act.

It would now, in hindsight, be a good time for Penn State to change the culture immediately. The disgraced Curley was shamed by all of this that he chose to take a leave of absence to prepare for his defense. If anyone deserves much of the blame, it’s Curley – which is why he stepped down Monday after being charged with perjury and he also failed to report an alleged incident of child sex abuse. Just as recently, Curley and Schultz were arraigned Monday in a South Paxson, Pa. District Court and each were released after posting a $75,000 bail bond.

Meanwhile, Paterno’s 46-year reign is nearing its end as Happy Valley is renamed Infamy Valley. In the wake of the sex scandal, it has raised questions on campus but away from campus people are devastated, requesting for JoePa’s resignation, roughly asking him to make the respectable decision by stepping down from his duties. The moral standard in 2002 would have been to contact the police, but nobody – not one Penn State official called to report the incident.

The Paterno era is nearing its terminal, all because the situation was handled cowardly. Nobody had morals — everyone was apathetic and negligent about the sex crimes. Nobody had respect or admiration for the program. Nobody. They all failed as a university, from the trustees to the athletic department and now they can only blame themselves for such failure and humiliation.

When a child is molested, common sense tells you to call the police. Paterno told and nothing was done. It would be interesting to see, if he is cleared to coach Saturday, how the partisan crowd in Happy Valley will react when he emerges from the tunnel onto the field. As we should expect, he’ll be given a standing ovation and cheered like a town hero, and he is worthy of warm receptions.

The question is, will his legacy ever remain intact and will there be a celebration for his departure after his longevity and distinguished coaching career? Who would have thought that the end was near?

It is only fair to hold everyone accountable. So far, no one is pushing him out the door for partly sabotaging Penn State’s football program. But sadly, he won’t leave on his own terms.

If he is dismissed real soon, he’ll be remembered for the ruination of a well-established football program, but will he be remembered as the most successful coach?