Did anyone see it ending like this? For over years Joe Paterno roamed the Penn State sidelines as a coach and a leader. His program was always respected not only for winning but for the way they won. Whether you liked them or not, the Penn State program was always revered as one of the top programs in the county.
For over a decade there was a running them off season “Will Joe Paterno retire?”. For awhile there it looked like his lack of production on the field would send him packing. A 26-23 overtime win over Florida State in the 2006 Orange Bowl helped change that perception and Penn State has been a perennial Top 25 program since then. Medical issues in recent years have forced Paterno to leave the sideline for the coaches booth during the game but even this could not convince the coach the retire well in his 80’s.
An now this – A late night phone call from the Board of Trustees ended Joe Paterno’s reign as head coach in the midst of a child molestation scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. As a mob gathered in State College to protest and the media proclaimed he had to go it was a moment nobody could have foreseen. The end of an era, marred in one of the ugliest stories to every come out of a college athletics program.
Obviously the biggest victims in this case are the children involved and there families. Jerry Sandusky’s alleged crimes are of the most heinous in nature and justice will never fully be served no matter what penalty he receives. Nobody should ever place sports, careers or college loyalties over the seriousness of these crimes. It is unfathomable to many American’s how something like this could not have been stopped, reported or covered up.
While it does not even come close to the pain and suffering these children have had to endure, the rest of the nation is also worse from this scandal. Professional and college athletes and coaches are hero’s to many and children all around the country idolize them and want to follow in their footsteps. However the stories of these figures all to often end up in tabloids or the police blotter rather than the sports pages. From the Nevin Shapiro scandal at the University of Miami (FL), Tattoo-Gate at Ohio State to the Sandusky crimes at Penn State 2011 is showing us the worst in college sports and these stories are not alone.
Drugs, divorce, sexual misconduct, gambling and abuse are all becoming weekly topics on ESPN. There is not a single sport that has not had some sort of black eye in the past few years. The NFL has dealt with vehicular homicide by Donte Stallworth in 2009, MLB players Derek Lowe and Miguel Cabrera were arrested for DUI among others and now college sports is facing a child molestation cover up. These are just a few of the numerous serious incidents that have occurred in recent years.
Perhaps this latest story will finally make society realize that these people should not be held to a higher standard. Our children should marvel at their on-field accomplishments but not their personalities. That even those are supposed to be the best of us can let us down. This is the world we now live in – one where even someone as respected as Joe Paterno has fallen.