The Joe Paterno Problem

The Joe Paterno legacy came to an end this week when Penn State’s board of trustees fired him, the president, and a slew of other university officials. The reason was the accusation that Paterno didn’t contact the authorities when he found out about the sexual abuse going on in his locker rooms and showers. The perpetrator was the longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.


The accused (Sandusky) has yet to go to trial; however the evidence against him is almost overwhelming. He still denies the claims made against him. The issue is whether or not Joe Paterno should have been fired. A lot of people believe that he should be fired. He was notified about 15 years ago that Sandusky was harassing little boys, he in turn notified the chairman of the athletic board. I personally believe that this was ethical enough for a 69 year old man to do. The chairman of the athletic board could have notified the authorities just as well.

Some people have even gone on to say that Penn State deserved this because they let Joe Paterno do whatever he wanted. That he was a god. They have evened coined the phrase “It’s not Penn State, its Paterno State.” This is a cowardly shot a championship coach. Nobody knows what they are going to do in a situation like that unless they have been in a situation like that. God forbid. Not only that, how are you going to sit there and pin this on an entire University? This is one man’s sick and demented actions. He alone should be punished. There are probably a hundred people that could have called the police or done something other than what they did…..nothing.

I would put the test to anyone that has had any dealing with sexual misconduct. It is a very touchy subject. I think that if anything this should be a learning point for all of America. If you think something is suspicious report it. Sometimes it is better to be wrong about nothing, than do nothing about a wrong.