The Penn State football program, and to a large extent the university as a whole, is forever tainted because of the actions of Assistant Coach Sandusky and inaction of PSU officials, including Joe Paterno. What happened at Penn State is worse than the NCAA violations that happened at USC, Ohio State, Miami, UCF, any of them and it’s not even close. Penn State has fired JoePa effective immediately, yet there are more than a few people mourning this outcome and saying that it is unfair for JoePa’s career to end this way. Let me put as simple as I can: JoePa has no one to blame but himself. He gambled that his reign as Penn State football coach would end in disgrace when he chose not to take action against serious offenses levied at a friend and former subordinate.
The most common defense I have found for JoePa’s action is that he fulfilled his legal obligation. This is yet to be determined. It would not be surprising if JoePa was later charged with perjury, since his statements and the grad student (the one who witnessed the alleged abuse) conflict. Furthermore, JoePa will most definitely be involved in any civil cases, of which there may be many, as a defendant.
Let us say that JoePa did fulfill the bare minimum of legal obligation, he is still not excused. The allegations against Sandusky were disgusting and extremely disturbing. I understand not wanting to throw a friend or subordinate under the bus based on allegations, but to not follow up on them is irresponsible. Given the serious nature of the potential crime, JoePa should have barred Sandusky from PSU facilities until an investigation occurred. JoePa took the easy route in not doing anything – just passed the complaint along (apparently a watered down version) and do nothing. See no evil, hear no evil.
Which brings me to the second most popular defense for JoePa: ‘JoePa is a football coach, he gets paid to coach. As long as nothing illegal happened, he is still a great coach and should continue to coach. If these allegations against Sandusky are true, it also brings into question how good of a coach JoePa is. JoePa, if the allegations are true, will have hired a sexual predator and when this was brought to his attention did nothing. This scandal will greatly affect how Penn State is able to recruit in the future (a principle job for a college football coach). Moreover, the NCAA may levy fines and sanctions against Penn State, something that is also detrimental to the athletic program.
The final and most egregious defense I have heard is that JoePa is a victim. JoePa is not a victim – the victims were the children that were molested. The reason there is so much media attention surrounding JoePa’s handling of this is because he is not just the football coach who knew nothing. He is one of the most powerful football coaches in the country, one who has more power than his AD or even the president of the university. Nothing happened in Penn State’s football program without JoePa’s approval. To say JoePa had no say in how far the investigation in Sandusky proceeded is naļve.
Legally JoePa may not be guilty of any criminal behavior, but like the old adage states ‘for evil to prosper all it needs is for good men to do nothing’. JoePa is a Hall of Fame Coach. His plaque should read the following: 409 Career Wins. Two time national champion. 24 bowl victories. 5 undefeated teams. Was aware of child molestation occurring at PSU facilities, did nothing to stop it.