Joe Paterno - An American Tragedy

Article first published as Joe Paterno - An American Tragedy on Blogcritics.

"The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones."
- Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

In Shakespeare's great play, the Roman emperor Julius Caesar is brought down by some of his former friends, including BFF Brutus. Of course, had Caesar only headed the warning from others around him, he would have been in his palace eating grapes instead of dead on the Senate floor, but then we wouldn't have the tragic story Shakespeare told so well.

I recall reading Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy back in college, and it seemed to me to be one of the most solemn works, the heft of which weighed on me long after I had read it. The quick summary could be something about the main character, Clyde Griffiths, coming from a modest family and working his way to the top, only to be brought crashing down by his own desire for wealth and success.

When we think of Joe Paterno now after the horrific Penn State scandal that brought him down, it is not as the winningest coach in college football history. Sadly, he has been vilified for (if nothing else) lacking the discernment to report Jerry Sandusky to the authorities after his efforts within the Penn State system brought no action. Of course, Paterno's famous line that he should have done more echoes ominously now, as he has passed on and left a fractured legacy in his wake.

What exactly is a tragedy? People regularly misuse the word, but if you look at Aristotle's definition of it, tragedy has to do with a fall that was inevitable. Tragic heroes are noble in some way, have great ability, and they are admirable for the great things they do, but one thing stops them along the way: they have a deadly (tragic) flaw.

People who study these kinds of things will tell you all about tragic heroes like Hamlet, who could not decide what to do until it was too late to do it. If procrastination got Joe Paterno, it was undoubtedly after the fact. Paterno did report the incident involving Sandusky and a young boy to university authorities, but this went nowhere. Years and years passed and then the truth finally came out. One can question what Paterno was thinking all that time, and either the incident was forgotten or conveniently put aside in his thought process.

We all know the rest of the story, and Paterno ended up getting fired even after he decided to quit, so much for a quiet life of retirement. Then we learned that Paterno had lung cancer, and three months or so later he is dead. Today a private funeral was held for the man, with a public memorial set for Thursday with thousands of people expected to attend. We can wonder if Paterno died more from a broken heart than from lung cancer, but there is no explaining the unexplainable.

So many of his former players have spoken about their love for "JoePa." We hear from them that Paterno was a good - even a great - man. To me he seems more like a King Lear type in a sense, perhaps more sinned against than sinning, another tragic figure who misjudges people and their intentions. He only understands the truth about good and evil too late; alas, this seems to be the case with Paterno as well.

We cannot debate with those who knew the good man Joe Paterno was, but it would be difficult to not see the other side of those abused boys or their family members, who view Paterno's inaction as a sort of evil. Now, those who knew Paterno loved him and probably will never see what he did (or didn't do) as evil, yet most of us would see sexually abusing children as something quite evil, and a failure to report that as being like an accessory to the crime.

How Joe Paterno will be seen in sports history is yet to be determined, for in sports the infamous and the legendary often stand side by side. Pete Rose is not in the Hall of Fame, but someone who was known as a racist (Ty Cobb) is in there. While I am not certain how "evil" gambling is (they play Bingo in churches all over the country don't they?), I am sure that racism is an ugly and evil thing, and yet plenty of people forget about the dark side of Cobb as the years go by.

Right now Joe Paterno can be seen as a tragic figure, and perhaps the best thing to come out of this mess is that college football has been changed forever by what happened at Penn State. People in colleges and universities all across the country must face what happened there and learn from it; otherwise, there is a good chance this could happen again somewhere. When even one child suffers unnecessarily, all children (and their parents) suffer as well. If we allow things like this to continue to happen, then we are not part of the solution but part of the problem, and that will indeed be an American tragedy.

Photo Credit - AP

Joe Paterno Fired - Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing

Article first published as Joe Paterno Fired - Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing on Blogcritics.


There is an old saying: "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" This can lead to many discussions, as would "The sound of one hand clapping." But this is not a philosophical discussion, but rather a look at the fall of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. He fell from grace and there were plenty of people around to say "Timber!" That is all fine and good enough, but the chopping down of this man and his legacy is all bluster if something much more significant does not follow.


I think many of us were shocked when we heard students were protesting the removal of Paterno as coach by the Board of Trustees at Penn State. Was this because Paterno is the most successful coach in Division I history? Was it because of his relationship with his players and the fans? Whatever the case, the students who engaged in turning over a news fan, smashing car windows, and clashing with police are misguided in their efforts. Make no mistake, they are no Occupy Wall Streeters who have a social agenda - they are there to defend a man who allowed something sinister to pass his way and did nothing substantial to stop it.

Of course, most of these students are probably not parents. If they were they wouldn't have mustered a word of support for this man. The questions are abundant and the answers meager in terms of why Paterno did not do more than to report to university officials about alleged sexual assaults by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Paterno's supporters say he did what he was supposed to do by notifying superiors, but that should not have sufficed because the coach had to realize that nothing was being done about it.

If you compare this scandal with the sexual abuse cases concerning Catholic priests, you can see some similarities. In many cases a pastor may have reported a case of suspected sexual abuse against a minor, but usually that stayed within the realm of the diocese where it took place, with superiors moving the offender to another parish where he was likely to commit the same crime again. This kind of internal handling of these things doesn't work and is incongruous to wanting to handle the larger problem at hand: stopping and punishing the deviants who abuse children.

Despite its history of covering up its dirty laundry, the Catholic Church saw the light thanks to an awakening that may have come through divine intervention, but most likely arose because of millions of dollars in lawsuits. Here in the United States the church has started the Virtus Program to "protect God's children." This is a substantial effort by the church to train and educate adults in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.


The firing of Joe Paterno is a good first step for Penn State, but that has to be the start of something much more substantial. Besides getting their house in order (calming down students, finding out how many college officials knew about this case, etc.), their efforts to stop this disgraceful behavior from ever happening again have to continue long after the press and public stop rattling their cage.

Penn State has to take the lead here. They must set high standards for all employees, students, and teams. Something like Virtus must be initiated that will provide continuing education that allows all parties to recognize situations and individuals who may be predators. This effort must go beyond the firing of employees to putting the fire of knowledge and understanding into them. They have to be infused with the awareness that something like this can never, ever happen again, but if it does, that genuine protocols will be in place to handle the situation immediately.

A once mighty star has fallen at Penn State, and there will be those who do not get it and never will, but they cannot be allowed to dictate how this situation is handled. At this point Joe Paterno and his legacy mean nothing. He now becomes an enabler, someone who will not be remembered for winning games and anything else he has done. Now he is at best a bystander who was no innocent. He knew what was happening and did nothing substantial to stop it, like a captain of a ship who doesn't notify his passengers that it is going down.

Unfortunately, that puts him and Sandusky in the same sinking boat, and all the life preservers in the world cannot rescue them. Whoever joins them in that vessel (and there will no doubt be more revelations to come) is going down too. Drowning is a terrible way to die, but that is nothing compared to what Sandusky's victims had to endure and have to continue to live with for the rest of their lives. As Joe goes down after his last breath he will eventually be remembered not for what he has done but what he failed to do. That is a fitting legacy to be sure.

Photo Credits: Penn State students - AP; Joe Paterno - NY Daily News