A very interesting column re Joe Paterno

[cto]

By Rick Reilly...

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7492873/rick-reilly-paterno-true-legacy

 

[Scooch]

There's no doubt that Paterno did an ENORMOUS amount of good in his life.

I'm also uncomfortable that so much more attention has been paid to Paterno, rather than Sandusky, in this horrendous situation.

 

[rosconey]

i think bobby bowden summed it up best--sometimes life just aint fair

 

[Ghost]

I hate Rick Reilly (. He writes really obvious greeting card crap and ends with mind-bending gems like this, "If we're so able to vividly remember the worst a man did, can't we also remember the best?" If he wasn't a sportswriter he'd be the annoying older dude in a coffee shop trying to stir up conversation with co-eds by asking silly philosophical questions.


That being said, the guy was a great football coach, everyone will remember him for that.

Otherwise, people will form their opinions based on what think happened during the Sandusky affair. If you happen to think a lot of innocent children were raped because of his cavalier attitude toward his friend's actions - well, I doubt you're going to care much that he checked in with one of his players at the hospital, or drove a shitty car when he could afford better.

If you think he did enough, or maybe didn't do enough but it was merely an error in judgment, you probably will remember him fondly for the most part with a tinge of disappointment.

It's pretty simple.

 

[rrlbees]

It's a shame that so many people want to give him a pass on something horrendous because he did so many good things. It's actually pretty sick. These media people act like his negative was robbing a gas station. I wish one of these media folks had asked him before his death what he did in 2004 when he saw Sandusky walk onto his practice field in the middle of practice with a 10 year old boy in tow.

 

[Aweart23]

I hate Rick Reilly (. He writes really obvious greeting card crap and ends with mind-bending gems like this, "If we're so able to vividly remember the worst a man did, can't we also remember the best?" If he wasn't a sportswriter he'd be the annoying older dude in a coffee shop trying to stir up conversation with co-eds by asking silly philosophical questions.

The only thing worse than Reilly in writing is Reilly on the radio...Cowherd has him on every once and a while and I want to reach through the radio and strangle him...

 

[ljmilman]

Like bees said, it's a shame that so many people want to give him a pass for the Sandusky scandal. But it's also a shame that so many people want to forget the good he did and continuously crucify him for it. Paterno, like all of us, is the sum of the good he has done as well as the bad. And anyone who fails to remember both is doing a disservice to Paterno's true legacy.

 

[Marsh01]

It's a shame that so many people want to give him a pass on something horrendous because he did so many good things. It's actually pretty sick. These media people act like his negative was robbing a gas station. I wish one of these media folks had asked him before his death what he did in 2004 when he saw Sandusky walk onto his practice field in the middle of practice with a 10 year old boy in tow.

Its almost like people are afraid to ask because they are afraid of what he will say. The people in State college are really blind to this and it was pretty awful to hear them sidestep the subject and just focus on the football/Penn State side. In the end it all comes down to scumbag Sandusky but JoPa could have been a bigger legend had he done the right thing.

 

[Stern]

It's a shame that so many people want to give him a pass on something horrendous because he did so many good things. It's actually pretty sick. These media people act like his negative was robbing a gas station. I wish one of these media folks had asked him before his death what he did in 2004 when he saw Sandusky walk onto his practice field in the middle of practice with a 10 year old boy in tow.

Exactly. All crimes aren't equal! It wasn't like JoePa changed a kids grade or paid a recruit to fly home or even gave him a car. He sat by and let someone RAPE kids on his turf right under his nose. And JoePa did nothing. He let kids get raped! That goes beyond "oh just one mistake in his entire life"...that's BS!

You don't get to brush KID RAPE under the rug. Paterno did nothing. Paterno is (was) a rotten human being.

 

[Ghost]

Its almost like people are afraid to ask because they are afraid of what he will say. The people in State college are really blind to this and it was pretty awful to hear them sidestep the subject and just focus on the football/Penn State side. In the end it all comes down to scumbag Sandusky but JoPa could have been a bigger legend had he done the right thing.

Agreed.

Not to pile on, but this was my favorite part of the article:

"He was the only coach I've ever known who went to the board of trustees to demand theyincrease entrance requirements..."

Yeah, sounds like a great guy, if only he had that kind of enthusiasm when he found out he had a child molester running around campus. In that case a simple phone call seemed sufficient. Also, there was that string of e-mails that seemed to make it pretty clear that Paterno lobbied pretty hard for preferential treatment for football players.