Yesterday Louis Freeh confirmed what many speculated about the powers that be at Pennsylvania State University including legendary coach Joe Paterno.
This is what I wrote when the scandal first broke. We now know that he knew a lot (if not all) and he knew it a long time. He did nothing. There is no amount of goodness in Paterno’s history that can overcome his pure selfishness in allowing a monster to terrorize young children. I frankly do not know how this school can recover from this, at least in the short term. Paterno was a fixture at that school for more that 40 years. His name and visage are all over the place. I suggest that the school cannot fully recover until every last reference to Paterno is stricken from the campus. That is a lot of time to gloss over, but I can see no other way.
In a way, it was the school that Paterno was protecting. It was the school that Paterno found more compelling and important than the lives of young boys and their families. It is only right, therefore, that the school pay for that protection in a very serious and punitive way. At this point I say forget about Paterno and the entire Paterno family. Don’t pay any attention to Jay Paterno or any proclamation uttered by the family or its representatives. This extends far beyond one man and his legacy.
Thanks to UJ for the graphic.
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