Joe Paterno Fired: Is Legacy Tarnished and How Will He Be Remembered?

What will being the winningest coach in major college football history with 409 wins get you?  A dismissal on the phone. 

No matter what Joe Paterno did or is accused of doing, he deserved more than a phone call to dismiss him as Penn State's coach.  The fact that the Penn State board of trustees fired the legendary coach over the phone was a sign of disrespect and flat-out classless.

Now, aside from how Paterno was dismissed, the questions are did Paterno deserve to be fired and what will his legacy be going forward?

Did Joe Paterno deserve to be fired? 

The answer is unequivocally, without a doubt, YES!  Joe Paterno was responsible for every aspect of the football program at Penn State and that includes the actions of other coaches.  Every head football coach, whether it be the NFL or college, is the boss and players, coaches, medical staff and any other person that has any contact with the program does not have contact unless the head coach approves it.  JoePa was no different. 

Let's not forget how unsettling the allegations are against the staff.  We are talking about not only the alleged molestation of innocent children by one man, but having it witnessed by others and not taking the appropriate actions to have it stopped.  Notifying the upper administration that Jerry Sandusky was possibly molesting young boys was not enough.  Sandusky should have been reported to the police and arrested after he allegedly molested the first child...period. 

Instead, he was allowed to stay on and is accused of molesting children for 15 years.  Paterno is a part of this.  It is disgusting that no one, including Joe Paterno, alerted the police.  There is no gray area on this.

What will be Joe Paterno's legacy be? 

Joe Paterno will be remembered for being the winningest coach in major college football and having been a positive influence on thousands of people.  However, he will also be remembered for the young boys that were molested by an employee of his and he allowed it to happen.  JoePa's image will never be the same; he will never be remembered for everything he did for the young men that came through his program, nor for what he did for Penn State. 

Instead, he will be looked at as scum for possibly allowing such an awful thing to happen and quite honestly, that is what he deserves.  There is no reason for this to have gone unchecked ever...period!  Paterno has taught young men in his program to be accountable for their actions for six decades and the same applies to JoePa.

Pray for the victims in this awful mess.