Update:  10:20 :  Coach Joe Paterno has died.  RIP Coach. 

 

The above video is the last interview with Joe Paterno and was with Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post

It has been reported that former head football coach Joe Paterno is gravely ill and family is considering removing him from a respirator.  Paterno suffers from complications of lung cancer.  He was abruptly  removed from his position as head coach November 9, 2011. 

Paterno fell at home  December 19  and suffered from a shattered pelvis.  His health has been in continued decline since then. 

Students, faculty and friends have begun to gather at the campus bronze statue to keep vigil.  Shown here, friends removing snow from the area of the larger than life likeness of their beloved Coach Paterno.  Coach Paterno is the winningest coach in the history of college football.  He went to Penn State in 1949. 

 

13 Thoughts to “Coach Joe Paterno has died (1926-2012)”

  1. Shame on the Board of Trustees of Penn State for firing this decent man. They were drunk with their own power. Firing Papa Joe didn’t do one thing to help Sandusky’s victims.

    Their actions were just big-assing to look good. Shame Shame Shame

  2. Starryflights

    The Board of Trustees did the right thing in firing Joe.

    Sorry it had to end this way for Joe, though. During the 1980s college football had the Jimmy Johnsons and Barry Switzers, but Joe kept his program a class act, and won a national title in 1987.

    1. @Starry, He kept his program a class act for decades and never wavered. You want him fired because someone told him something that someone saw. Joe reported it to his bosses, as he should have done. Remember, there was no protocol in a university because universities deal with adults, not children. Remember also that Joe was told about it. He didn’t witness first hand.

      What amazes me is that no one is criticizing the dude who did witness it. Mike McQueary should have called the police since he witnessed a crime. He wasn’t a kid. He was 24 years old. Instead of calling the cops he called his daddy.

      Another reminder–Joe Paterno is not a child molester nor was he ever accused of such a thing. This is living proof of the old adage : ” One ‘awe shit’ can ruin 100 atta boys.”

  3. Pat Herve

    From what I understand, Paterno was alerted to the allegations against Sandusky – and he did nothing to stop it. Firing was the least that should have been done in this situation. It is not forgivable that he allowed children to be taken advantage of by Sandusky.

    1. He told his bosses. Sandusky no longer worked for him when he was first alerted by the coaching assistant. Sandusky lost the use of Penn State facilities.

      I see this as a horrible gray area. I knew someone who I suspected was a little too friendly with kids. But I never saw anything directly and you cannot go making accusations based on what someone else said. Its not that clear cut.

      The person who should have taken more action was the person who actually witnessed the assault. He is the only one still with a job.

      Low hanging fruit?

  4. Emma

    RIP, JoePa, especially knowing that you will never be held to the same standard that many of your loyal followers hold Catholic bishops who didn’t do enough. After all, it’s college football!

  5. Funny, the different reactions. I hope everyone saw the interview with Ms. Jenkins. I totally support JoePa and feel the trustees might as well have put a gun to his head in their drunk with self-importance power firing session.

    Joe Paterno lived in a world that didn’t include a set of explicit directions about what to do about the situation he was told about. He told his bosses. He didn’t deal directly with children. He hadn’t had workshop after workshop that explained the protocol for such events. So he told his bosses. Dealing with what was then rumor is not always cut and dry. Hindsight is 20/20.

    It’s easy to sit in judgement. I just see an old man who gave his entire life to Penn State. He had the respect of all his opponents and fans, even though they cursed his team on the field. He was at Penn State 6 full decades and lived an honorable life and expected the same from his players. How many others can make that claim?

    While making a great deal of money, he lived in the same modest house. He gave most of his money to Penn State and the Penn State community, including being a main contributor to their new library. No single coach has put so much back in to the community.

    I salute him and as the daughter of an old coach, (not at that level) I dim the lights on the field in his honor. Joe, I am sure you made it through the goal posts.

  6. The one thing I agree with is that McCreary was a coward. This could have been settled with one beat down and a call to 911.

    1. @Cargo, I won’t call him a coward. I am sure he was horrified. The average person isn’t wired to handle this sort of thing without emotions taking over some decision making.

      However, I don’t think he did the right thing. He should have called the police or done a beat down. Slamming a locker just doesn’t cut it.

      I find it odd that the actual eye witness wasn’t fired and yet 4 other people were. Most people reports want to talk to the person who SAW a crime committed, not rely on news traveling along the party line.

  7. I called him a coward because, as a man that allegedly saw abuse of a child, did nothing. He called….his boss and his father.

    Excuse me? He called his daddy to complain that he did not know what to do?

    He was afraid of making waves because Sandusky was popular. He allowed that fear to influence his actions in the protection of a child.

    1. @Cargo

      I think it was more than just popularity. Look, I think he should have been the first one fired if anyone was fired. He was the eye witness. However, there is no other institution with greater politics to play than a university. McQueary clammed a locker which broke up the situation. Most people aren’t in the position, fortunately, of knowing the exact protocol for this kind of situation. Had he treated it like any other crime he would have been on the side of right.

      Now, let’s look at the realistics of the situation. Had any of them just called the cops and alerted the media, it would have been all over but the shouting. That’s just how universities are. I believe McQueary should have called the police himself. He was, after all, the only witness. Barring that, he reported it to his superiors. o oe will ever know exactly how explicit he was.

      Hindsight is 20/20. Unless we have been in a similar situation, its really hard to say what you would have done. I woiuldn’t call him a coward though.

  8. Emma

    “Joe Paterno lived in a world that didn’t include a set of explicit directions about what to do about the situation he was told about. ”

    It’s good to know that the elderly can still get away with things that us young’uns get regular training now to avoid. Like failing to adequately report child abuse to ensure it stops and that the perp isn’t protected by his popularity. It doesn’t require a huge burden of proof to report even suspicions of child abuse. If you suspect it, you do something about it. Many of us are bound by law to report any suspicions we might have. I suspect that a coach of even college students is bound by the same requirement.

    So if we can’t hold the working elderly to normal standards because they either a) are from a different world than the rest of us or b) are just really great, legendary football coaches, then what? Can they pinch women in the behind at work, because they’re “old school?” Can they call us “sweetheart” or “baby,” lear at us or even refuse to listen to us because we really just belong at home? Even though they’re out in the working world, can we just assume that the older generation has been living in a cave for the past four decades or so, and can’t be held to everyone else’s standards?

    1. @Emma

      Who fed you the judgemental pill tonight?

      I was also bound by law to report suspected child abuse. It dealt with the job I was in. Also, I might add, there was a protocol in place and that included who I was to report to first.

      So let me get this straight…you think a man who had been a leader in his field should get the axe because he reported an abuse case someone told him about to his bosses? What is it you would have liked him to have done?

      You are aware that pedophiles don’t wear a brand on their forehead. Ever known one? I have. Some are not obvious. What the idealists think is that we ought to go running off and report them all. You have to catch them doing something wrong. It isn’t illegal to think about it.

      No, you don’t suspect it and do something about it. You don’t do that unless you want to get yourself and your employer sued. You follow the protocol, if there is one. Child sex abuse laws deal with children, not young adults. Therefore, Paterno and the others would not have had hours of training on how to handle child sex abuse. They didn’t work with children.

      Furthermore, I didn’t say excuse Joe because he was old. Actually, he did nothing wrong. So spit it out, what should he have done?

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