Joe Paterno: Lawyering Up Doesn't Make JoePa Guilty of Anything

Joe Paterno is out as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, but his part in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal is far from over.

The good news for JoePa is that he is legally in the clear in this case. Sandusky, his former defensive coordinator, has been charged with 40 criminal counts and is facing life imprisonment. Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and administrator Gary Schultz are facing perjury and failure to report charges. Paterno, though, is not suspected of any crimes.

Nevertheless, a report from NBC News claims that Paterno is lawyering up anyway. He has hired J. Sedgwick Sollers, a hot-shot Washington defense lawyer who once represented President George H.W. Bush in the Iran-Contra affair.

Before we go any further, this report could be premature. Maybe even false. Paterno's son Scott tweeted this a short while ago:

So JoePa either has a lawyer, or he doesn't. That depends on whose word you want to believe.

If JoePa has hired a lawyer, my guess is that people are going to react negatively. Though he has not been charged with anything, that he thought to go out and acquire a defense attorney must be a sign that he is guilty of something, right?

Wrong.

Let's not overreact, folks. If JoePa feels like he needs a lawyer, it wouldn't necessarily be because he is worried about ending up in criminal court.

The reason I say this is because of the following passage in the NBC News report:

"

A source close to Paterno said that in addition to the investigations by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, the former coach is concerned about the likelihood of civil lawsuits by Sandusky's alleged victims and their families.   

"

Now this is something JoePa should be worried about. It has been determined by the authorities that Paterno did not break the law when he was informed back in 2002 that Sandusky had been with a young boy in the football locker room showers, but the universal consensus is that he was morally obligated to inform the police.

So if the families of the victims feel they like filing lawsuits, they certainly could. Given that, it would make perfect sense if JoePa did decide to lawyer up.

Be that as it may, don't take this as an indication that JoePa is worried about ending up behind bars. He very well could be worried about that, but assuming so would be foolish.