Joe Paterno Interview: Time Will Ease Hatred Levied Upon Joe Pa

Joe Paterno is never going to reclaim his icon status, but he also won't continued to be vilified at a level of which he has been since the Jerry Sandusky scandal swept across our consciousness.

Paterno has been destroyed in the court of public opinion almost as much as Sandusky. This will not always be the case.  

Joe Pa took the first step to reclaiming his broken reputation when he decided to share some of his side of the story with Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post.

Interview Excerpts 

Here is Joe Pa on why he didn't make sure the incident in the shower relayed to him by Mike McQueary was not pursued more heavily by law enforcement: 

"

I didn’t know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way.

"

Here is Paterno on the meeting he had when McQueary broke the news to him. 

"

He was very upset and I said why, and he was very reluctant to get into it. He told me what he saw, and I said, what? He said it, well, looked like inappropriate, or fondling, I’m not quite sure exactly how he put it. I said you did what you had to do. It’s my job now to figure out what we want to do.

So I sat around. It was a Saturday. Waited till Sunday because I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing. And then I called my superiors and I said, ‘Hey, we got a problem, I think. Would you guys look into it?’

Cause I didn’t know, you know. We never had, until that point, 58 years I think, I had never had to deal with something like that. And I didn’t feel adequate.

"

There is no doubt that part of this comes off as a lame excuse for a self-interested man that was willing to turn a blind eye on atrocities while clutching and protecting his interests and legacy. 

However, the other part of this is that it puts in clear light just what Paterno's role in this was. He was just one cog, in a systemic failure. 

In the scope of these allegations, there are far too many people that didn't do enough. That doesn't make it any less wrong, or more acceptable, it simply means that Joe Paterno does not deserve to be singled out.

This alleged cover-up goes well-beyond anything that he himself would have been able to cover up.

Joe Paterno should have done more. It is very likely that abuses occurred that could have been stopped, had more been done.

This fact will keep Paterno's legacy far away from icon status. However, that does not mean he is doomed to be remembered as an entirely evil person.  

And this is where Paterno will be able to make the biggest strides in recouping some of his lost image. 

Here is Paterno from another excerpt from Jenkins' interview: 

"

You know, I’m not as concerned about me. What’s happened to me has been great. I got five great kids. Seventeen great grandchildren. I’ve had a wonderful experience here at Penn State. I don’t want to walk away from this thing bitter. I want to be helpful.

"

And to that end, Paterno isn't just giving this lip service. 

Acts like this will lead to the public softening their stance on Paterno, and this polarizing figure is destined to leave a dualistic legacy.