Joe Paterno Announces Retirement
November 9th 2011 15:52
The Associated Press is reporting that Paterno, 84, will announce his decision to retire as the long-time head coach of the Penn State football team later today. A retirement has been widely expected, but never under the circumstances under which it is being tendered now.
The groundswell of anger aimed at Paterno comes from two basic facts. First, he has long taken the high road while Penn State's head coach. He has stressed responsibility, and has considered his program a "grand experiment." He has always been a teacher of young men first, and a football coach second. As his national stature grew, Penn State grew into a true national power in football. It remains one of college football's most storied and financially successful institutions. And it has always been one of the "cleanest."
It is because of the first fact that the second fact - his admission to a grand jury that he was informed of the acts of his ex-defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky - that the fury has been turned loose. For a man to fail to follow up upon hearing about heinous acts betrays every single thing the man stood for over those 46 years as the head coach and 84 years of life. It is this failure to act when everything else is always so spotless that has everyone - students, alumni, trustees and media types - asking "why?"
After or when this dust settles, the view of Paterno will be more...realistic. Truth be told, most people had stars in their eyes when it came to him. Faults that he had - his secrecy high among them - were brushed aside neatly because he was just such a great man. Great? No - or, rather, not any longer. Good? Yes. Eighty-four years of a successful life is not erased by one bad act. His reputation is tarnished for sure, and that stain will never lift. In the end, however, it provides for a more realistic measure of the man. He was not, after all, a god, but rather a man who made a choice, and it turned out to be a very bad one.
Penn State will have to work very hard to put this atrocity behind it. The institution has been smeared indelibly because of this. Look at how schools handle seismic events like this - SMU and its sports scandal, Virginia Tech and the murder spree; lessons can be and must be learned. Penn State must learn from their mistakes here. Not just the football program, but the administration must learn. There is a responsibility that comes with being a nationally recognized institution, and it goes far beyond how successful a mere sporting team is on the field of play. Right now the institution is under attack. One element of addressing the problem is Paterno's departure. The university must take more steps in order to redeem itself.
The fans of sports take yet another hit. Once again we are forced to separate a man as a person from the man as a sporting figure. Like Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick before him, we must now as fans figure out how to separate the greatness that was Coach Paterno from the ordinary failures of the man Joe Paterno. Coach Paterno will retire a legend with a stature that will never be equaled. The man Joe Paterno will be just like the rest of us - good and flawed at the same time.
EDIT: Paterno's released statement (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette):
"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.
"I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.
"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
"My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University."
Read more: Really Long Link
The groundswell of anger aimed at Paterno comes from two basic facts. First, he has long taken the high road while Penn State's head coach. He has stressed responsibility, and has considered his program a "grand experiment." He has always been a teacher of young men first, and a football coach second. As his national stature grew, Penn State grew into a true national power in football. It remains one of college football's most storied and financially successful institutions. And it has always been one of the "cleanest."
It is because of the first fact that the second fact - his admission to a grand jury that he was informed of the acts of his ex-defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky - that the fury has been turned loose. For a man to fail to follow up upon hearing about heinous acts betrays every single thing the man stood for over those 46 years as the head coach and 84 years of life. It is this failure to act when everything else is always so spotless that has everyone - students, alumni, trustees and media types - asking "why?"
After or when this dust settles, the view of Paterno will be more...realistic. Truth be told, most people had stars in their eyes when it came to him. Faults that he had - his secrecy high among them - were brushed aside neatly because he was just such a great man. Great? No - or, rather, not any longer. Good? Yes. Eighty-four years of a successful life is not erased by one bad act. His reputation is tarnished for sure, and that stain will never lift. In the end, however, it provides for a more realistic measure of the man. He was not, after all, a god, but rather a man who made a choice, and it turned out to be a very bad one.
Penn State will have to work very hard to put this atrocity behind it. The institution has been smeared indelibly because of this. Look at how schools handle seismic events like this - SMU and its sports scandal, Virginia Tech and the murder spree; lessons can be and must be learned. Penn State must learn from their mistakes here. Not just the football program, but the administration must learn. There is a responsibility that comes with being a nationally recognized institution, and it goes far beyond how successful a mere sporting team is on the field of play. Right now the institution is under attack. One element of addressing the problem is Paterno's departure. The university must take more steps in order to redeem itself.
The fans of sports take yet another hit. Once again we are forced to separate a man as a person from the man as a sporting figure. Like Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick before him, we must now as fans figure out how to separate the greatness that was Coach Paterno from the ordinary failures of the man Joe Paterno. Coach Paterno will retire a legend with a stature that will never be equaled. The man Joe Paterno will be just like the rest of us - good and flawed at the same time.
EDIT: Paterno's released statement (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette):
"I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.
"I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.
"That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.
"This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.
"My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University."
Read more: Really Long Link
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