Joe Paterno, who served as assistant and head coach for Penn State’s football team for 62 seasons, passed away yesterday, January 22, 2012, from complications with lung cancer. Many are mourning the death of this football “legend,” despite the fact that he was fired from his coaching position in November due to child sex allegations against his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Reports allege that Paterno knew Sandusky was sexually abusing children on school property, and did not report the matter to authorities. The alleged abuse started as far back as the 1990s, and at least seven people have now stepped forth to file charges against the assistant coach.
Joe Paterno (right) with assistant coach Jerry Sandusky in 1999
While I try to lead a relatively peaceful life mandating forgiveness, understanding and respect for human life, the world’s response to the death of Joe Paterno leaves me feeling betrayed, uneasy and, ultimately, very angry. As far as my personal life goes, my Facebook news feed was bombarded yesterday with “R.I.P. JoePa” statuses, thanking him for all he did for Penn State and for the sport of football at large. More importantly, every news article I read seems to idolize Paterno, focusing on his coaching accomplishments and only mentioning the scandal as if it was an unfortunate incident for which we should feel sorry for him. Most disturbing, perhaps, are the repeated claims that losing his position at Penn State perhaps hastened his death.
Encyclopedia & Reference Resource