Don’t Throw Out JoePa’s Baby With Sandusky’s Showerwater
Published: July 15, 2012
By PATRICK O'NEILL
The swirl of controversy still surrounding the Jerry Sandusky scandal feels as though it might swallow all of Happy Valley, PA. It is time that Penn State supporters take a deep breath and consider the following realities that no one can ever change:
- Two National Championships
- Three Big Ten Championships
- 409 wins, the most ever
- Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1986
- Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award (United States Sports Academy (USSA)) – 1989, 2001
- Amos Alonzo Stagg Award (AFCA) – 2002
- AFCA Coach of the Year – 1968, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2005
- Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award – 2005
No sex scandal, no cover-ups, no obstruction of justice and no corruption can change any of the above accomplishments. Paterno was more than a football coach and he still can be. So long as we do not close our hearts to what he meant before all of this unpleasantness, the good JoePa can live on and inspire.
Let us reflect also on JoePa’s decisions for which he has been condemned.
According to the Freeh report: “several staff members and football coaches regularly observed Sandusky showering with young boys” before May 1998. Paterno easily could have concluded that water conservation called for them showering together. He was known to support environmental causes on-campus.
Then Sandusky was forced into retirement in 1999 when he received “an unusual lump-sum payment of $168,000,” as well as full use of team facilities. Paterno has been questioned for allowing Sandusky to stay on in the volunteer position of “director, positive action for youth.” This is understandable because Paterno also expected Sandusky to seek treatment for his problem and had every right to believe this treatment would be successful. Paterno always believed in the strength of those around him. Can we fault him for his faith in his players? Then how can we do so for his staff?
Most importantly, the Freeh report suggests that when told of Sandusky’s shower-play in 2003, Paterno thought the compassionate thing to do was not alert authorities. As in football, it is easy to “Monday morning quarterback.” We will never know whether or not either Sandusky
Some of these kids just as easily could have ended up in unfulfilling straight marriages but instead explored their true sexuality with Sandusky.or his victims would have been better off had the scandal been blown up years ago. Perhaps so, but that is easy to say with the luxury of hindsight. Some of these kids just as easily could have ended up in unfulfilling straight marriages but instead explored their true sexuality with Sandusky. Sandusky was known for encouraging players to try unconventional defensive techniques. (How do you think he stopped Vinny Testaverde?) The same may have been true for sexual practices -- and some of the kids just might be better off because of it today.
This scandal started in a shower. It should end there. We all know the saying “do not throw out the baby with the bathwater.” It applies here more than ever. The reverence, the glory and, above all else, the victories must live on. Do not throw out JoePa’s baby with Sandusky’s soiled showerwater.
Patrick O'Neill is a frequent contributor to The LBT. He is a 1979 alumnus of Penn State University.
