The Confidential

More On Paterno

The latest news in the Penn State scandal is that Joe Paterno is not going to resign and that it is likely the Board of Trustees for Penn State will investigate (i.e. allow him to finish the season) before taking action.  And students in Penn State are out on his lawn supporting him.  Unreal.  A colossal mistake.

Imagine if Paterno said this on Monday evening:

Regardless of what I did or did not do in the past, and regardless of whether it was right or wrong, it is in the best interests of everyone for the focus to shift away from issues about Joe Paterno coaching.  Instead, the focus should be on #1 helping identify and counsel the victims; #2 ensuring justice is done; and #3 restoring the good name of Penn State.  In that order.  Joe Paterno simply is not on that list.

If my conduct is currently judged by anyone to have fallen short, I apologize for that now.  While my natural inclination is to try to fight to convince you of my side of the story, I cannot let myself be a distraction or obstacle to the most important goals being reached.  For those worried about my legacy, the legacy of Joe Paterno is not more important than the victims, justice, and Penn State.  And, if my legacy is going to be tarnished, it is going to be because of what I did or did not do several years ago and NOT because of what I did or did not do this week.  

For those talking about football right now, stop.  Realize that football is not the most important thing in life.  I certainly have never said it was.  And nothing that I have done in the past was based on putting Penn State football ahead of any other interests.  And, regardless of what you might think, Penn State can win football games without Joe Paterno.  So you need to stop worrying about football and re-focus on the three priorities here.  You can and should support the team on Saturday and in the future–those players have never been accused of doing anything wrong.  And although football games are low on the list of priorities, I am not going to allow controversy regarding me to interfere with them.

This is certainly not how I wanted my career to end.  But I have to acknowledge that I need to move on to a greater calling right now.  And that is using whatever is left of my good name to help the victims.  Even that might not be good enough in the end, but as a fighter I have to do what I can to win that battle.  Because that fight needs to start immediately, I hereby resign from my position with Penn State.

The reaction?  Of course, many would not be satisfied with that.  There are some who think Paterno should go to jail.

Most people, however, are in the middle and would feel that a self-imposed punishment at this juncture would be appropriate.  There would also be many people enraged that Paterno fell on the sword–even if it is a sword that he created unnecessarily many years ago.  And those people would not waver in their support for a quasi-martyr.

And if he truly did devote his efforts to helping these victims and other victims, his legacy would be restored over time.  America is always willing to forgive those that sincerely ask for it.  Eventually.

But that did not happen.

Instead, Joe Paterno is digging in–forcing the Board of Trustees to do something.  It is clear that Joe Paterno’s integrity is really just a myth.  Looking back, Joe Paterno was always looking out for Joe Paterno.  From there, it is not hard to extrapolate that he did not report this crime because it would have reflected poorly on him–hiring a pedophile and employing him for all those years.  Moving to less important matters, it becomes apparent that his continued  coaching is entirely about ensuring his place in the hierarchy of football coaches.  Even if it means being a detached coach in the press box without a headset.  As long as the win total grows.  The library donation was to immortalize his name, not to further education.  And so on.

Anything that happens to Joe Paterno’s legacy at this point is well deserved.   Needless to say, that legacy has peaked.  It is just a matter of how far he is going to let it fall before (finally) doing the right thing.