Joe Pa once said that the Bear was as “crooked as a dog’s leg” in his younger days, and reserved a special animosity for Jackie Sherrill, the former head coach at Pitt, Texas A&M and Mississippi State who was accused of cheating at every stop in his career. In fact, Paterno told Sports Illustrated that he remained in coaching (in part) to protect the game from individuals like Jackie Sherrill.
True, Sherrill was a cheater, and Bear Bryant probably broke a few rules in his days, too. But one thing is certain, whatever their “crimes,” they never protected a serial child molester who served as one of their top assistants. Joe Pa had the chance to do the right thing on multiple occasions, and always based his choice on protecting his reputation and the institution called Penn State football.
I don’t know if Paterno jacked up his pain medication to end it all, but he was guilty of participating in a massive cover-up that allowed Sandusky to continue his crimes, and destroy the lives of countless young men. Accordingly, Paterno’s “reputation” should be tarnished, and the scandal that he helped hide should be a defining measure of his coaching career.
Agree with all you wrote.