It is unfortunate that we will have a debate for the rest of time as to what is Joe Paterno's legacy? The former Penn State head football coach passed away January 22nd after announcing in November of 2011 that he had been diognosed with lung cancer. The diagnosis becoming public shortly after Paterno had been fired as the head coach at Penn State after 46 seasons. Paterno was fired after the sexual assault allegations were filed against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky is being charged for sexually assaulting 10 boys in a 15 year time span, and Joe Paterno was informed of the accusations in the late 90's and never fully reported them to the authorities, which led to his firing.
I do not think Paterno is innocent by any means, he said himself before his passing that he could of and should of done more. I ask that people remember the good and the bad that this man provided to his players and community, not that he is celebrated but that he is not crucified for one terrible mistake. I do understand that the mistake happens to be a very big one and one that some will never forget or be able to forgive but he did great things for college athletes for 60 plus years.
Paterno went to Penn State in 1950 as an assistant and eventually became head coach in 1966, where he won a record 409 games, won 2 national championships and won a record 24 bowl games. 250 young men that played under Paterno went on to play in the NFL and his team finished with a goose egg in the loss column 5 times. Those are all very impressive stats but the one that stands out to me and the one that I believe really matters, is his graduation rate. In a college sports world where education has seemed to be put on the back burner for the kids attending school and sports being a universities biggest cash grab and number 1 priority. Paterno graduated an incredible 89% of his players and that shows that he did care about his players because he knew that it about more than just football.
Again I ask that you not forgive Joe Pa for all his misfortunes but to remember all the good he had brought, not only to Penn State but to college athletes for more than 6 decades. How will you remember Joe Paterno? Love to hear from you so leave me a comment here or via twitter @JoshuaDover. Check out "The Mile High Morning Rush" on Mile High Sports Radio AM1510/FM93.7 Monday-Friday 6-7am with myself and Chris Bianchi.
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