Joe Paterno: Jerry Sandusky Scandal Will Not Be What Coach Is Remembered for

Two weeks ago there was a Penn State vs. Illinois football game in Happy Valley. The game was a disgusting, low scoring, grinding-type game that saw Penn State pull out a victory in the final seconds. The Penn State win gave head coach Joe Paterno his 409th win, making him the winningest FBS head coach of all-time. 

That win added to Paterno's legacy. It was another building block on the tower of records and goodwill done at Penn State. 

In fact, with the success of the season they are having this year, it looks like they are going to make a run at the Big Ten Championship, which was renamed the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy. 

But it was all crushed with one grand jury report, which had Paterno’s name linked into their findings. 

This Jerry Sandusky scandal is horrible. The indictment of the former defensive coordinator has everyone involved with the Penn State football program being dragged down into the mud with Sandusky and these allegations against him. 

It will forever be linked to the Penn State program, just like paying for players will be linked to the SMU program, the USC program and what happened at Ohio State. 

All of those scandals brought public shame to the program and contributed to the departures of each head coach. 

But, none of this has the height of the public outcry for everyone to be fired like the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Furthermore, none of the head coaches involved with their school’s scandals were as prominent of a figurehead as Paterno is at Penn State. 

What Paterno did—not going to the police and only going to his supervisors—is wrong. However, he was not found to be doing anything wrong when the grand jury’s report came out. 

The scandal will be hard to shake. It gives another piece of ammunition to those detractors of Paterno who wanted him out even before this season. 

It’s hard to think about this now, because we live in a society that lives in the here-in-now. But, in five years, ten years and beyond, the Sandusky scandal will not be what Paterno is remembered for. 

The coaching records, the perfect seasons, the Big Ten and National Championships, and the millions upon millions of dollars he has donated to the University of Penn State, will be what Paterno is remembered for. 

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