Former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno was a living legend, gracing this Earth with a presence that few could match. Not only was he a terrific football coach, but he was also the type of man that other men wished they could be. Then, tragically, he passed away on Jan. 22, 2012.
The shock felt from his departure has stretched all across the U.S., from college football faithful to Penn State alumni. The legendary tale of one of the greatest college football coaches of all time came to a nerve-rattling end.
Although many knew him as the face of both the Penn State football program as well as the school in general, his reach extended far beyond the football field. A mentor and scholar, Paterno strived to teach his student athletes that were was a life beyond football and how to succeed in it.
Unfortunately, the events that have transpired over the past few months are threatening to tarnish the legend that Paterno left behind. Paterno got caught up in the Jerry Sandusky child-sex abuse scandal, and lost his job as Penn State’s football coach in the process. Regardless of how much blame can be placed on him, which doesn’t appear to be as much as some make it out to be, there’s no need to condemn the man on the day of his death.
After reading CollegeFootballTalk’s article on Paterno’s death, I was appalled to read some of the comments that people left in response to college football’s biggest loss in years.
“Good riddance to the POS. It’s divine intervention. Shoulda been Sandusky, but I’ll take it,” said randygnye. And that’s “piece of s**t” for those of you who don’t know what POS stands for.
2difshoe chimed in with, “Condoning child molestation never has a pretty ending!”
Another commenter asserted that Paterno had taken “the easy(cowardly) way out”, continuing to display the ignorance that people have towards the whole situation.
This is a statement released on behalf of university president Rodney Erickson and the Board of Trustees regarding Paterno’s passing: “We grieve for the loss of Joe Paterno, a great man who made us a greater university. His dedication to ensuring his players were successful both on and off the field and in life is legendary and his commitment to education is unmatched in college football. His life, work and generosity will be remembered always. The University plans to honor him for his many contributions and to remember his remarkable life and legacy. We are all deeply saddened.”
That’s coming from the people who decided to fire Paterno and who were directly involved in the scandal. They reflected on his accomplishments and how he furthered the lives of others, not his involvement in the Sandusky case. If they can have the compassion to say nothing but kind words about the man, it’s pathetic to see people who have never even met him dragging his name through the dirt.
The fact stands that 99 percent of the world doesn’t know what really happened in the Sandusky case. For all we know, someone threatened Paterno into keeping his mouth shut or some other sort of conspiracy. You don’t know what Paterno personally did to try to fix the situation, so don’t talk like you were there.
It’s a terrible situation that I’m sure Paterno wished never happened, but it did. And to blatantly disrespect the dead only reflects on the ignorance and immaturity that you carry yourself with. Show some respect for a great man who got stuck in the middle of an ugly situation. He wasn’t the one who molested those children, so stop bashing the man like he did.
We’re all human; the day you can absolutely say that you’re a perfect person is the day you can run your mouth about how awful of a person you think Paterno is. Until then, have some class.
Gil Alcaraz IV is a long-time football fan and founder of TheVikingDen.com. For more, follow him on Twitter.