If you Googled Joe Paterno a mere week ago, your search would have returned pages with titles like "Iconic Coach Breaks Division 1 Wins Record," "Paterno: The Greatest Coach of All-Time," or "Joe Pa: The King of Happy Valley." Now, just a few days later, the only two search returns on the first five pages that don't contain a word similar to rape and scandal are Paterno's PSU.edu profile and his (extremely tainted) Wikipedia page.
Today's media is so quick to jump at the opportunity to deface a hero that embellishment and falsifications began before the board room meetings even closed after the Jerry Sandusky story was leaked. When the news broke of Sandusky (you may not have heard his name yet, but he is the alleged pediatric rapist who happened to have worked for the same university as Joe Paterno) being arrested on 40 counts of criminal charges, the media looked right past the words "sexual assault," "deviate sexual intercourse," and "unlawful contact with a minor" and zeroed in on the words "Joe Paterno's assistant."
Luckily, I have been an avid college football fan since birth and I still think, and will continue to think, of Paterno as an icon and a face of honesty in an NCAA world constantly marred by scandals and cheating. It takes a huge story to make the jump from "SportsCenter" to "Dateline," and in this aspect, I am fearful of the non-sports fan's view of Paterno in the weeks to come.
Everyone in America knows that Tiger Woods is an adulterer, they all "know" Michael Vick killed dogs (even though he only ever funded it ... different story, though), and they all know Barry Bonds used steroids. What the "Dateline Sports Fan" couldn't tell you is that Tiger Woods is right-handed, Michael Vick is a great runner, and Barry Bonds weighed 185 pounds and stole a ton of bases when he was first drafted.
I'm not defending any of these individuals because they were all guilty. Paterno is not.
The Sandusky story is a slum journalist's dream. Joe Paterno is to college football as Abe Lincoln was to civil rights in the 1860s. What kind of low-life, money hungry writer wouldn't want to take out Paterno as a short cut to the top? For this reason, I think it is the job of every level-minded football fan to decipher fact from fiction so that the iconic face of college football doesn't join the ranks of the aforementioned heroes-turned-zeroes after the Sandusky story spills over to the everyday media. Let's start with a timeline:
1950: Joe Paterno hired as Penn State assistant coach
Joe Paterno begin's his (unknown at the time) lifelong and illustrious career as a coach of one of the most prestigious football programs in the country.
1963-1965: Jerry Sandusky plays DE for Penn State
As Paterno establishes himself as a likely future head coach, Jerry Sandusky befriends him and establishes a very strong player/coach relationship with Joe.
1966: Joe Paterno is named PSU head coach; Jerry Sandusky is hired as a graduate assistant
Joe Pa's trust in Sandusky continues to grow as he is a graduate assistant to Paterno in his first year as head coach.
1969: Jerry Sandusky is hired as a full-time coach at Penn State
After a two years at other schools, Sandusky returns to Penn State as a paid coach, where he would remain on Paterno's payroll until his retirement in 1999.
1977: Jerry Sandusky creates "The Second Mile"
Fully established as a resident of State College, Pennsylvania, Jerry Sandusky creates a non-profit organization called the Second Mile. The Second Mile is (as per their website) "a statewide non-profit organization for children who need additional support and who would benefit from positive human contact" (wow, yellow light). Sandusky does a great thing for the community and gains more trust and respect from Paterno.
1999: Jerry Sandusky retires as defensive coordinator from PSU
Penn State notched its only ever bowl game shut-out under Paterno (24-0 over Texas A&M) in the 1999 Alamo Bowl. Sandusky leaves Penn State with his head held high and the trust of the most revered coach in college football.
2001: Jerry Sandusky releases an autobiography
Jerry Sandusky releases his autobiography about his time as a player, coach, and friend of Joe Paterno and Penn State University. The autobiography was titled, "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story" (you can't make that up).
Now we can fast forward to the first allegations brought against Sandusky.
After his retirement, Sandusky was allowed to use the football team's facilities, and was often seen showing some of his Second Mile Program children around the locker rooms. One night, Sandusky was with one of these children, a young boy, and was seen "horsing around" (as the graduate assistant referred to it) in the locker room by a PSU football graduate assistant.
As in any profession, there exists a chain of command within the ranks of a college football team. If a senior linebacker puts a stink bomb in the freshman kicker's locker and another freshman sees it, it is his responsibility to tell his teammate of the culprit, but the fear of the linebacker is difficult to overcome. If a quarterback knows his running back friend is using steroids, it is his responsibility to tell the coaching staff, but his friendship is something very difficult to put aside. If a graduate assistant sees a man acting inappropriately with a minor, it is his responsibility to tell a coach, even if this man is a former coach and "the good old boys" mentality is looming. And it is that coach's responsibility to tell the school's administration, even if the former coach and coach are friends.
Paterno did just that. Even after a 30-year friendship and working relationship with Sandusky, Joe Paterno swallowed his pride and did the right thing. He reported the graduate assistant's findings to the school's administration. University responsibility fulfilled. The case progressed and when called to testify, Joe Paterno said the same thing he had said to the school's administration. He told them that a graduate student had seen Sandusky "horsing around" in a locker room shower. Legal responsibility fulfilled.
I can't think of what more Paterno was supposed to say at the time. If I was walking out of my front door and a person told me they had seen a man looking in my neighbor's car, all I could do was convey that information to my neighbor and keep an eye out for similar activity (Penn State forbid Sandusky from bringing any more Second Milers into the facility). If my neighbor's car got broken into three days later, I can't think of anyone who would blame me in any way, as long as I fulfilled my obligation to tell my neighbor what the person had told me about someone snooping around. Paterno is in a very similar, yet much more serious, situation.
The graduate student who reported what he saw to the coaching staff called the actions "horsing around." It wasn't until a few days ago, when other allegations were brought against Sandusky, that the 2002 "horsing around" allegations are being referred to as "sexually deviant acts." If the graduate assistant told Paterno that "sexually deviant acts" were occurring in the locker room at PSU, Paterno would have turned the organization upside down until the culprits were found. Instead, Paterno was told of Sandusky and a boy "horsing around" in the locker room (still a bit weird considering his book title, but not a sexually deviant act) and he reported this to his boss. He later conveyed the same information to a jury while under oath.
In the coming weeks, Joe Paterno's wonderful accomplishment of becoming the winningest coach in Division I football history will be shadowed by the horrible acts of another person. Jerry Sandusky has not been tried yet, and therefore I won't give my opinions on him, but I will say Joe Paterno did absolutely nothing wrong and the only reason anyone thinks he did is because members of the media think they've found their Holy Grail.
I grew up 30 minutes from Happy Valley and I have lived in five states since graduating high school. I wear a Penn State shirt every Saturday during the football year and, no matter how bad PSU's record was, no one anywhere ever gave me any real grief. Penn State is in the highest echelon of prestige and tradition, and Joe Paterno is the reason for it. People who know I am a huge Penn State fan have made fun of me for Ki-jana Carter and Courtney Brown being busts, Larry Johnson getting in trouble, Kerry Collins being ancient, but no one, not even the most diehard Buckeye fans, have ever had a single ill-word to say about Paterno.
The man is a class act, an icon, and a hero of mine and I hope in the coming months everyone will only give blame where blame is due. If Sandusky was guilty of the alleged acts, then burn him at the stake, but don't take one of the few true heroes that the sports world has left with him. No one blames USC for O.J. Simpson, and no one should blame Penn State, especially Joe Paterno, for the actions of Sandusky.
November 8, 2011
Drew:
another enabler of child molesters
November 8, 2011
Jess:
How sad can you get! If that was your son how would you react. PATHETIC!!
November 8, 2011
fbalfan:
Gary I can only hope you get to personally experience a JoPa duty fulfilled with your children. Then tell us that was good enough. And BTW at least get your facts right McGreary did not say horsing around he said a sexual nature
November 8, 2011
alc217:
Fbalfan get your facts straight….it’s McQueary
November 9, 2011
Alison:
Gary-You’re kidding me right, Michael Vick only funded the dogfighting???? You are sorely mistaken. I suggest you read The Lost Dogs or any of the Court transcripts of Vick’s own testimony. He personally, in overalls so as not to get blood on him, tortured and killed enough dogs to have landed him 60 years in prison. Dogs were hooked to jumper cables and thrown in a pool while Vick laughed as they tried to claw their way out while being electrocuted to death. This is the problem - writers like you who make stupid comments without ever knowing the facts of the case. To throw a statement like this into an article about Joe Paterno is simply plain ignorance on your part. Report the facts.
November 9, 2011
Amanda:
I don’t care what kind of athletes these people are. I dont care if these people found the cure for cancer. Maybe Paterno did it. Your vision is obviously skewed because Vick did more than fund dogfighting. He took part in torturing and killing dogs. You’ve actually got me convinced that Paterno did do something wrong based on the Vick comment. You should fact check before you put stuff out there.
November 9, 2011
Angee:
“only funded” the slow torture and killing of dogs? I am glad to know that is okay…I will go ahead and fund the production of child porn, then..as long as I am not watching it, it is all good. Wow….Here is your sign…
November 9, 2011
Donna Beach:
Vick is a sadistic torturer and murdered countless animals with his own hands. Your journalistic skills are sorely lacking if you can even get the basic facts of a case correct.
November 9, 2011
Darlene:
Mike Vick only FUNDED the dog fighting? Have you been living under a rock? Get your facts straight!
November 9, 2011
tori miles:
Michael Vick did more than just fund dog his fighting operation. He killed dogs with his bare hand and lied and blamed it his friends and family. Get your facts straight.
November 9, 2011
Karen:
Read the court documents on Vick….he did more than “fund” dog fighting! Get your facts straight!!!
November 9, 2011
al:
Way to do your homework. You must have missed Journalistic Research 101 and Due Diligence in Reporting Seminar at your county college. Next thing you’ll tell me is that Al Queida ‘only funded’ the terrorists.
November 9, 2011
Molly:
Are u serious? How can u even call yourself a reporter with a false statement such as the one saying Vick only funded dogfighting? C’mon man! Get your facts straight-he slaughtered dogs with his bare hands and took enjoyment in it…all while wearing protective clothing as to not get dog blood on him…and you call that only funding? Get another job please because your reporting skills are seriously lacking!
November 9, 2011
anne:
The reports I have read said that there was more than one incident, and that one graduate student reported seeing a sexual act in the shower with a ten year old, yes, a ten year old boy. I read that the student then phoned his dad who said to tell Paterno, which he did. The University then covered it up, and Paterno may have thought it was investigated and settled. He is still responsible for not having followed up on such a serious allegation happening in his locker room. Paterno should step down. Our children are more important than king football. This article was not properly researched.
November 9, 2011
Cory:
This kind of blind faith and dedication for Paterno is same reason Sandusky was allowed to continue abusing boys… “I know Joe…he’s a great man”. Up until a couple of days ago Sandusky was described in the same light. Any less was unthinkable or impossible so it was covered up. Think about that, champ.
November 9, 2011
Gary Flick:
In response to the Vick comment, I admit that my “research” on the subject of Vick was word of mouth and obviously my source (as well as myself for not looking into it) was wrong. I have a dog, If anyone ever laid a finger on him (or paid to have a finger laid on him for that matter) I would make damn sure it never happened again. Mike Vick deserved to go to prison and (even as an Eagles fan) I think he was a total thug. However, all the comments on Vick further prove my point on people being so quick to put the facts aside and rip someone apart. Fact: 99 % of this story had nothing to do with Vick, yet 99% of the feedback is about a factual error I made, and not the fact that Paterno did nothing wrong. I knew when I wrote this I would have plenty of negative feedback, but I was really hoping it would be in constructive opposition to Paterno still being a hero and not to an arrant partenthesised comment in the 4th paragraph.
November 9, 2011
Gary Flick:
Jess and Drew:
After re-reading the article, I completely see your points (enabler of child molestors is a bit harsh… but sensible after my own re-read) and I should have added as much about how horrible Sandusky is and not just how great Paterno is. I don’t have any children, so I can’t completely put myself in your shoes, but I assure you that I want everyone who IS guilty to be hung in the town square, I just truly (and perhaps a bit naively considering I’ve had his picture on my mantle since birth) believe that Paterno is an innocent man and if he could have prevented anything, he would have. I know I could be wrong, and if that is the case (this even hurts to type) then take Joe to the town square too, but I truly believe he was just completely duped by a heartless, disgusting man.
November 9, 2011
Jorda g:
I hate to see joe go out like this..
November 9, 2011
saucY:
Thanks for fixing addressing the Vick comment. That was my only problem with this article. Well said.
November 9, 2011
Steve W:
By his refusal to follow up on this crime and by his participation in a cover-up, Paterno is guilty of facilitating the rape of dozens of innocent children. That will be his legacy. it’s a shame he may dodge jail time.
Read the comments from Pennsylvania’s police commissioner who blasted Paterno for being morally bankrupt for not stopping what was going on. (Paterno, btw, knew about Sandusky’s pedophilia since at least 1998.)
November 10, 2011
steve:
F*&k everyone who Blames Joe Pa, he did his job, he did NOT diddle the kids, everyone just wants to blow this way out of proportion with just mentioning the name Joe Paterno
November 10, 2011
Cynthia:
Wow. this is disgusting. I am literally going to be sick. I pray my son never has to rely on the protection of an adult with your sociopathic lack of moral reasoning.
November 10, 2011
Nadine G:
How ironic that they wait until Paterno beats Coach Eddie Robinson’s record to come out with this story. Why not before? Sounds a bit fishy to me.
November 10, 2011
Nicole:
I understand that people shouldn’t be quick to judge but people also shouldn’t blindly defend. I am against this Joe guy because he allowed innocent children to be harmed.
But seriously for Vick it was just dogs. He was definitely wrong for what he did. But he did his time in jail, he is paying his debts, he is trying to contribute to society. Isn’t that the point of sending someone to jail, to rehabilitate them and have them enter back into society. If it’s not then what is its purpose?
Children does not equate to animals, this Joe guy was wrong and he should go to jail to be rehabiltated. Maybe in a couple of years he should be allowed to enter back into society. But not just him, everyone involved in the cover-up. They are responsible for the well being of young men and if they can’t move themselves to protect a child, I’m concerned about all of the boys in thier care over the years.
November 10, 2011
00stephen:
I’m glad that that you care about your dog, but I’m really not interested in your feelings about what you if someone harmed him. That is, at best, tangential to your argument about Paterno and persecution of celebrities (at worst completely irrelevant and a distraction). What concerns me more is your total lack of sources and reliance on “word of mouth.” Your commentary shows up near the top of Google *News* feed on Paterno, and as such your readers expect a basic modicum of news/journalism standards.
The reason people are railing on you against Vick comment is because once you got that basic fact incorrectly, that early in the article, you a set a precedent to your readers of not knowing the subjects you’re writing about. The fact that you wear a Penn State shirt every fall weekend and nobody makes fun of you for it is *NOT* a valid reason for Paterno not be dismissed. Do some research on the issue, provide us with some half-way verifiable details, and THEN tell why Paterno should not be fired.
Quit putting brand image ahead of the people and their (in)actions, lest you be viewed as someone who is part of the problem as opposed to part of the solution.
November 10, 2011
fbalfan:
alc217 you are right I was being lazy and did not even look it up again my apologies
Gary I hope you get to put the noose on him in the town square if all of those fine upstanding students that have used JoePa as a role model haven’t destroyed the whole place by then. JoePa knew but Sandusky knew something about ole JoePa that caused him to back off
November 10, 2011
thomas:
Thanks for writing this piece.
This BS has been going on since the time of Socrates…the scapegoating I mean, not the pedophilia… well, that too I guess.
Nicole, you’re a complete and utter fool. This Joe guy? Not only did he NOT allow sexual crimes to take place, he didn’t do anything punishable by the law.
A person he thought he knew and trusted did these things.
His name is Jerry, not Joe.
There was a grad student named Mike, a coaching assistant that supposedly witnessed a grown man having anal sex with a little boy.
When faced with evil incarnate, he is the one who did nothing…except run away and call his daddy. Now he’s coaching the team! He actually claims to have seen these things…in person!
Doesn’t that blow you away, nicole?
Faced with evil incarnate, a young coach Mike politely left the room and called his dad for advice.
Can you fathom not acting immediately in a situation like that, Nicole?
I bet even a girl like you would be willing to take on a pedophile if you caught him in the act. Right?
I know I would.
November 10, 2011
James:
what a bunch of crap your article is. Paterno was fully aware of his 30 year employee raping a boy in the shower. He didnt call the police and he has been fully aware for almost 10 years now that no police were called. He knows no scandal broke and he knows his secret is the reason. 6 grown men fully aware of a child rape and nobody calls the cops. And your going to write this crap article trying to distance your hero paterno from this situation. He was fired today and should be in jail as several more kids got raped thanks to his silence which was motivated by not wanting negative attention on his football team.
Your a joke!@
November 10, 2011
James:
When you catch one of your employees having anal sex with a child at your place of work you absolutely have the legal requirement to notify the authorities. Not calling the cops is absolutely not an option and they should all be charged with conspiracy to commit sex acts with a child. Keeping it secret and allowing him to continue to bring more and more kids to the showers makes them liable and supportive of what this man was doing. Paterno will die broke and disgraced and I honestly think he deserves it.
November 10, 2011
Nicole:
Thomas,
I thought it went without saying that the person that actually committed the crimes should be punished. But I guess I was incorrect in thinking everyone agreed with that.
The point is that the predator/pedophile could have been stopped if they hadn’t covered it up in the name of their football program. I mean they didn’t have to investigate it themselves, someone could have just called the cops. They should be punished, seriously reprimanded (not just a slap on the wrist, like being fired/ sent into a cushy retirement), or something.
I think that everyone involved in covering it up has some level of accountability including Joe Paterno. Why not make an example of them and let it be know that the safety and well being of a child does matter. No I don’t think the grad student used the best judgement by only calling his dad and then only reporting it to the school but at least he made some effort. I don’t know if I agree with him running the program now but that wasn’t the topic of this article. I may have just missed that, however.
Thomas, I’m not sure what my exact actions would be if that’s what you’re concerned about but I do know the first thing is that the police would be called immediately. I’m sorry I don’t have a play by play to give you as to what steps I would take after that.
But hey maybe I’m just naive or a complete and utter fool as you put it Thomas for thinking that alerting the police is something a reasonable person would do. I guess it’s just too much to expect when a football coach or “football hero” is involved.
At the very least there needs to be a civil suit brought against those that conspired to protect the pedophile and the image of their football program and refused to get the authorities involved. I however would prefer they go to jail.
November 10, 2011
James:
This kind of retarded slant should end!
pediatric rapist who happened to have worked for the same university as Joe Paterno)
REALLY HES THE HEAD COACH AND RAPIST WAS THE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR… happen to have worked LOL
I’m not defending any of these individuals because they were all guilty. Paterno is not.
PATERNO DID THE EXACT SAME THING THE OTHER TWO WERE ARRESTED FOR. HE WAS TOLD ABOUT IT AND DID NOTHING. SAME AS THE OTHER TWO UNDER ARREST. your statement is contradictory. You say the others did something wrong but not Joe. Now how is that possible ?
November 11, 2011
Gary Flick:
Thank you very much for that point, Thomas… I really think you’ll agree with my next article on the topic, now that more of the facts have came out. (Including the fact that Joe himself “could have done more”).
“00Stephan”
I apologize that my glorified blog (surprise, surprise… I’m a college student and I didn’t get paid a penny for this) made it to the top of a goole search bar, but don’t “blame” (though I think it’s a pretty well written article) me for the popularity, blame the ignorance of everyone who started posting about the Vick comment. I could have emailed the editor and had him remove my Vick quip, but I’m not a coward and I stand by everything in this article, even the mistakes. I didn’t get big into professional football until after I left Happy Valley for the military in ‘07 because I had Penn State football at my backdoor growing up and the pros seemed too (ironic now, I know) dirty and political in comparison. I missed the Vick trials by a year or so and my only real knowledge was a cousin who will still take the phrase “Vick only funded that stuff, man” to the grave with him. Obviously a poor decision to add something about it too the article, but this was my first opinion piece ever so I’m sure it won’t be the last mistake I make in the writing field. I’ll even agree with your worst case scenario of it being “a distraction.” It shouldn’t have been in there, but it was. Now that I know my writing is decent enough to engage people, I’ll make sure to mind all my p’s and q’s on the aforementioned next article I write. I hope anyone who actually took something from this article will read the next one, but if you’re just going to be probing it for factual mistakes, don’t waste your time because their won’t be any.
November 11, 2011
Gary Flick:
James
I almost stopped reading your comment with a misuse of the word “retarded” in the first line, but I got past it and made it all the way to the “LOL.” I stopped there though, sorry…
I will say that the “happened to have worked with” line was called sarcasm, as I am well aware Sandusky was Joe’s good friend and Defensive Coordinator. I thought that to be pretty obvious.
November 11, 2011
Carole J. Fleming:
I do not think any of us can really imagine the damage that Sandusky and others have done by the continuing raping of children ( or not reporting)……how many predators are going to develop as a result of the rapes….remember rapists are first raped as children….or at least most of them….
And I hope Joe and the rest of the Penn State group get their pocket books ready because if I were the victim, I know I would never need a job again. But believe me some of these children will never be employable…
July 31, 2012
Dan:
Seriously, get off the “hang all pedo’s and anyone they are associated with” bandwagon. Grow up. People lose their mind over taboo subjects. You don’t know the facts. You weren’t there, so please shut up. Also, stop with this horse shit of “the victims”. Oh, so if I’m not hating Sandusky and Paterno enough, I’m disappointing the victims? Let me tell you people something, that probably have not even left your own neighborhood: There are much worse things in life than being molested, believe it or not. Most of you also have NO CLUE how an elderly mind works. The only thing that was keeping Joe alive, was probably his career. That’s usually the case for a lot of senior citizens. Their dedication, mind set, and daily routine is what keeps them going beyond their years. After Joe was fired, it was no surprise to me that he had passed away. I actually saw that coming.