Joe Paterno’s Best Case Legacy

In the two months plus since the horrifying Jerry Sandusky accusations became front page news, I have pleaded with the masses to withhold judgment on Penn State until all of the facts were made public.

To be clear, I have excluded Sandusky himself from that request. Legally he is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty and as an unabashed believer in the American system of jurisprudence I hope he gets it...in the courtroom only. Personally I am not willing to offer such open minded leniency to a man currently facing no fewer than ten unrelated charges of vile sexual acts against children.

I recognized that it is at best inconsistent and at worst hypocritical to condemn Sandusky while pleading for patience in regards to others. So be it. We live in a world of shades of gray, no matter how much people demand black and white perspectives and solutions. And I remain steadfast in my belief that we must have irrefutable proof before we condemn those peripheral to the crimes in a conspiracy to cover-up and defraud.

I put at the top of this list Mr. Joseph Vincent Paterno.

I do so not out of some blind loyalty to the man we call JoePa or out of divine worship or deification of a football coach. I do so because a man who spent 60 years of his life teaching, mentoring, and coaching young people; a man who gave back to his university and his community with shocking generosity; a man who by all accounts has lived a profoundly decently life deserves and in fact demands the presumption of innocence.

The idea that Joe Paterno turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children in order to protect his football program is in categorical opposition to how he lived his life. This is the issue I have struggled to reconcile from day one and I’m simply not willing to accept it at face value. That does not mean he did not do so; right now we simply do not know. It does mean that he has earned some benefit of the doubt and the right to have such charges proven; especially given that at least two people above him are facing prosecution for perjury.

So I’ve waited patiently for Joe’s side of the story. I’ve hoped beyond hope that he would say something to change or clarify the prevailing sentiment that he was a full out enabler of this horrific scandal. To be clear; I had little or no idea of what that might be, although an honest bearing of his soul would be a start.

Well Paterno has now spoken and this is what we are left with: The best case scenario seems to be a grievous error in judgment and/or horrific inaction with tragic consequences. The worst case scenario…well I still don’t want to think about it. There is nothing in Joe’s statements that can or will change the prevailing sentiment that he did the minimum required; in a situation that demanded the maximum.

I’ve tried over the last two months to divorce myself emotionally and look at this situation with some degree of objectivity. And I have failed, miserably. I find myself even to this moment desperately mapping a path to Joe’s exoneration. My mind is willing to throw anyone else involved under the bus to reach this conclusion; Curley, Schultz, McQuearry, Spanier, even the board of trustees. All are likely complicit to some degree but I feel no overriding need to defend them as I do Paterno and Penn State. That point in and of itself calls my objectivity thoroughly in to question.

I want so much to say that one bad, even horrific lapse in judgment should not outweigh 60 years of good. I want to believe that others around Paterno failed him more than he failed them. To me it seems perfectly rational that Paterno was forced in to a situation beyond his comprehension and he took what he considered to be a suitable course; letting others around him take responsibility.

Just as it seemed perfectly reasonable to San Francisco baseball fans that Barry Bonds becoming a human steroid freak should not impugn his legacy or his home run record. I labeled their defiant defense of Bonds with one word…denial.

I do not doubt that most of the world sees the Penn State community as being very much in denial. I don’t have to doubt it, the media and blogosphere crystalize it in every related story. The phrase, “They just don’t get it,” is all but required prose for anybody viewing this scandal outside the blue and white veil.

Let me make this as clear as possible; we do get it. From day one I have said that the children are the only true victims of this scandal. They and only they deserve your sympathy, prayers and support. They and only they deserve full accountability from anybody who directly or tacitly enabled this tragedy.

Yes we are biased; perhaps to such a degree that we are incapable of rending an honest judgment. At the same time, we are not willing to concede the high ground to those who consider themselves morally superior; lash out with hyperbole, or condemn with a broad brush. I simply cannot abide those who rise upon their pedestal to blame an entire university, alumni base, or even its football team for the heinous actions of one man and the poor decisions or inaction of a few others.

It’s been driven home repeatedly that Penn State or “the Penn State way” (whatever that is) enabled Sandusky; a perspective I staunchly denounce. Penn State or “the Penn State way” reflects millions of people; most of whom live their lives with honor and integrity. I will concede only that a few people in power failed miserably in their obligation to act. Why they did so is between them and their creator.

Penn State is much greater than those few people. And that includes, to whatever degree he’s ultimately complicit, Joe Paterno.

For now, I’ve made peace with the following short-term compromise. I accept that a decent human being made a terrible mistake. I do not believe he did so with direct intention or malice but that is irrelevant in consideration of the consequences.

I will accept that this is undeniably part of his legacy and that he must answer for his action or worse yet inaction. At the same time, I refuse to directly offset six decades of good; 60 years of giving more of himself than most of us could ever imagine by one awful decision. Not when he neither witnessed nor perpetrated the crime. I still maintain that Jerry Sandusky is the ultimate criminal and demon in this situation; a fact that far too many have willfully forgotten.

That’s my compromise, at least as of today. It’s flawed, biased, perhaps even irrational. I’m in no position to deny that. I’m far too close to this situation emotionally to remain objective.

My position however remains very much fluid. And what frightens me most after Paterno’s statements is that I can now conceive only of my perspective getting worse, not better. Paterno has officially set the “best case scenario” boundary for him and quite frankly it’s not all that great. Given his failing health and the magnitude of the scandal, it’s possible he will offer no greater defense.

The worst case scenario remains very much in play; he participated in a carefully orchestrated cover up to protect Penn State or his football program. When or if that is proven to be correct, the compromise I described above will be irrevocably destroyed, as will the entirety of Paterno’s legacy. At that point all those involved will be indefensible on any level. I cling to the hope, however thin that no such conspiracy exists; for the good of both Paterno and Penn State as a whole.

There is a significant defining lesson here; one I fear too many will miss in the crusade for blood lust. There is nothing worth compromising your ethics or integrity. There are often daunting short-term consequences for standing firmly behind your principles. Such consequences pail compared to the price of ignoring them

Joe Paterno has taught many lessons in the last 60 years. I hope this is not remembered as his last.