R I P Joe Paterno

[cvasara]

A great coach, just one little stumble along the way.
Penn State, and football has lost a legend. 
To Damn bad Penn State didn't wait a few more months before
dropping that bomb on you.  Last few months had to be hell.

[bennett11]

Football legend and great coach and likely as a person.  But he was unbelievably arrogant which likely lost his support from superiors (board of directors of Penn State).  They had strongly suggested couple years ago that he retire - he should have.   He upstaged them again by announcing his retirement at the end of the season - doing so without discussing with superiors at the time the scandal broke.

My wife had to deal with him a number of times on the phone (at Syracuse athletic dept)   Most arrogant individual she ever had to deal with.

[tomgallagher]

I try not to speak ill of the dead but unfortunately Joe Pa outlived the legend.

[b.driscoll]

Sorry cv, but nobody dropped a bomb on Paterno..............his own arrogance and ego caused him to be a part of that scandal at PSU. I do not feel sorry for him at all since he looked the other way while his assistant assaulted those kids............makes me sick. He could have and should have done more. Lets not make a hero out an arrogant old man who ,when leadership was needed the most,he put his head in the sand.

[Razor X]

Sorry cv, but nobody dropped a bomb on Paterno..............his own arrogance and ego caused him to be a part of that scandal at PSU. I do not feel sorry for him at all since he looked the other way while his assistant assaulted those kids............makes me sick. He could have and should have done more. Lets not make a hero out an arrogant old man who ,when leadership was needed the most,he put his head in the sand.

Well said.

[buddha]

A great coach, just one little stumble along the way.

Little stumble? Wow! That there has got to be the understatement of the new millenium. That's like saying that Jeffrey Dahmer had a taste for unusual cuisine.
The problem, as I see it, is he could have been the greatest coach in the history of the world but when he allowed the child rapist, Sandusky, to skate he totally failed as a man.
Ima go now because when I think of Joe Paterno after all that has transpired I want to start dropping liberal quantities of F-Bombs.

[Mikekoz13]

I agree with Buddha...... anyone with kids wouldn't think that was a "little stumble".

[D.A.L.U.I.]

He failed the test, with great responsibility comes duty,  and that duty can't be declined or delegated.  He failed the test when it presented itself and lost his reputation.  Reputations are fragile things--his is shattered in the minds of many and will never be repaired. 

[cvasara]

Wow,  I didn't think there would be so much contempt and hate for the man.  Especially for what I that was a forgiving bunch of men here.  Too bad I can't just go in and remove the thread, How about it moderator, why not just dump it?? 
I wonder what will be said about President Clinton, when he passes away?  After all, he did redefine what sex is,  and what the meaning of the word "IS" is. 
Any way, I think it's time I step away from this forum, and go my own way. 

[Mikekoz13]

No need to be testy because a few of us didn't agree with you. I never said I hated the man... quite the contrary, he did a lot for a lot of his players........ BUT.... he made one huge mistake.

And please tell me that you're not comparing Moinca lewinsky to a minor child. Apples and oranges.

So.... no need to go really.

[Razor X]

Wow,  I didn't think there would be so much contempt and hate for the man.  Especially for what I that was a forgiving bunch of men here. 

It's not our place to forgive Joe Paterno.  Only the victims, their families and God can do that.

I wonder what will be said about President Clinton, when he passes away?  After all, he did redefine what sex is,  and what the meaning of the word "IS" is. 

I'm no Clinton fan, but like Koz said, there's a world of difference between sexual indiscretions between consenting adults and child molestation.  And I'll go so far as to give Clinton the benefit of the doubt and say that he probably wouldn't look the other way while children were being assaulted.

[sailor61]

may he rot in hell.  He holds no responsibility for anythingthat happened before the infamous "shower scene".  But in any horrid act that Sandusky (sp?) perpetrated on a child after that Paterno is as guilty as that scumbag.  He had the opportunity to stop it before it happened and didn't.  To make matters worse he allowed that pervert free access to Penn State facilities up until things got too hot.  Sorry, his "legacy" went down the shower drain.. 

[tomgallagher]

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - January 23, 2012 (WPVI) -- Officials have released information regarding events and services honoring former Penn State Football Coach Joe Paterno. A three-day planned memorial is scheduled.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

A three-day planned memorial is scheduled.

First thought that comes to my mind, Putting lipstick on a pig.

[buddha]

Wow,  I didn't think there would be so much contempt and hate for the man.  Especially for what I that was a forgiving bunch of men here.  

You are taking this waaaay too personal. But the decision to stay or go is, of course, yours as it is for me or anyone else in this forum.
This is where it gets complicated. One of the football coaches that I admire most is Mike Ditka. In the event that I found out that while he was the coach of the Bears one of his assistants was raping little boys in the shower and he did what Paterno did in the penn State situation that would knock Iron Mike off the pedestal that he had previously occupied. I always admired Paterno because he ran a clean program. There were never any scandals involving his players, they didn't take large amounts of money, they graduated with skills outside of football and Penn State was never a media target.....UNTIL JERRY SANDUSKY STARTED RAPING LITTLE BOYS ON THE PREMISIES.
Once that happened everything changed. It's the old story of "ONE OH $H!T WIPES OUT A THOUSAND ATTABOYS". And something of this magnitude needs to be stopped as soon as it is discovered. To not stop it is to enable it to continue and that is where it becomes like a terminal illness for all those involved. Do I hate Joe Pa because of this? No. Do I feel contempt for him? Maybe I do. Do I forgive him? That ain't up to me. His forgiveness will come (or not) when he tries to walk through the Pearly Gates.
I feel the way I do because I believe that every adult man has the responsibility for the protection of children. That is built into our DNA. And I don't feel compelled to forgive men who molest children, nor do I feel compelled to forgive anyone who enables them to continue with their evil. Every single boy who was victimized by Jerry Sandusky is F**KED FOR LIFE! That's right, amigo, FOR LIFE! No matter what great things happen for these kids, they get a full boat football scholarship, they play 15 all pro years in the NFL, they do all kinds of wonderful things for the community and are looked upon as virtual saints, one night they will wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat remembering that day. What happened is gonna haunt these guys on and off their whole lives no matter how much money they make and no matter how much therapy they get because this stuff is like the proverbial fired bullet, you can't take it back. Once the damage is done it's done and there's no changing that.
And because this happened the legacy of Joe Pa is tarnished. For me Penn State once was a clean program.....not so much now. Yeah, just because of this. And Jerry Sandusky was the disease but Joe Pa had the chance to administer the cure.
And the rest is history.