What should joe paterno have done

The presence and achievements of Joe Paterno, who died on Sunday at 85, inspired long lines of students, football players, former football players, and many others to walk past the former coach's casket on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday.

The third day of mourning found thousands of people at a public service held in the Bryce Jordan Center, Penn State's basketball arena. Joe Paterno was revered at Penn State, and his legacy beyond the university was significant. People who love college football would refer to Paterno when they were trying to convince naysayers that the college sports business wasn't entirely corrupt.

Joe Paterno's teams won of games, 24 of 37 bowls, and two national championships, and most of his players graduated. Joe Paterno was a generous benefactor of the university, and though it's fair to say he could afford to be, lots of people who can afford to give generously don't. Instead, Paterno released a statement saying "he could have done more," but admitted, by asking to finish out the season and telling the Board of Trustees that they shouldn't waste time discussing his job status, that what he did not do wasn't bad enough to force him out.

It is with great sorrow that I submit my resignation as Penn State's head football coach. I never thought it would come to this point. Although I am not at liberty to elaborate beyond what I told the Federal Grand Jury about Jerry Sandusky, I realize that I had a greater responsibility to follow through on what had been described to me nine years ago. I was not explicitly told what exactly happened that day, but I should have followed through more.

I will live with this regret for the rest of my life. My failing to take what was reported to me beyond what was my legal responsibility may have had consequences. Spanier, Schultz and Curly are not great men either but they don't have bronzed statues of themselves on campus. Great men are not responsible for allowing a child raper to continue his child raping for 13 years after his heinous child raping actions are brought to light. Paterno did nothing to stop Sandusky for 13 years.

In fact, had victim number one and his mother not stood up and spoke up, Sandusky very well could be continuing his atrocities right now. No one from Penn State ever did anything to stop him at all. In fact, as the Freeh report shows, they all conspired to do the exact opposite. You'll still get the arguments though from the "the sky is blue and white because God is a Penn State fan" sect:.

But Joe was such a great guy, he put grades and graduation rates above winning. A dubious claim, I don't recall any of his losing seasons being attributed to him cutting dumber players who were flunking out. Regardless, he apparently only cared about the welfare of children who went to Penn State and not the poor vulnerable ones from broken homes who merely visited his campus.

But Paterno was a regular guy, down to earth, he lived in a ranch house just off campus. Yep, and he owned a 3. Of course he did, he carved out his only little fiefdom why would he leave? He was the biggest fish in a not so small pond with the administrators answering to him, why leave and go to the NFL where the owner could fire him after two losing seasons?

But Paterno did so much good for State College, the University, he donated so much money to the school funded and built the Paterno Library, he put the school on the map and his winning football program pumped millions and millions of dollars into the university that help fund other athletic and education programs. So, what? Hey, Victim 1. Jerry Sandusky forced you to engage in oral sex with him on several occasions.

Of course this would never have happened if Joe Paterno stepped forward years ago and reported Jerry Sandusky to the proper authorities, but have you ever seen how nice that library is? It's amazing! Hey, Victim 2, you were brutally raped in the shower room in Penn State's Football facility.

That would've never happened if Joe Paterno dismissed and then had Jerry Sandusky banned from campus in , but did you know that Penn State's research facilities benefited greatly from Paterno's success as football coach? Feel better now? Victim 4, you were molested several times and then subsequently harassed by Jerry Sandusky. That wouldn't have happened if someone with a lot of clout at PSU did something to stop him, someone like I don't know, maybe Joe Paterno.

But hey, you got to go to the Alamo Bowl and we won! Wasn't that great? And we won mainly because of Sandusky and his defense. Wasn't it great how the team carried the monster who was abusing you off the field on their shoulders, as if he was some conquering hero? Must've made you proud to know Jerry. The list goes on and on. Ten children, that we know about, all who were abused either by Jerry Sandusky when he was a member of Joe Paterno's coaching staff or after he retired and was given free reign of the football facilities by Paterno himself—after Paterno and Spanier and Schultz and Curley knew Sandusky was a pedophile.

Those victims, and what happened to them, are the responsibility of those four and great men are not responsible for the raping of children.