The Joe Paterno era is officially over.Paterno, once the gate keeper of family, friendship and victory at Penn State, became nothing more than an accessory after allegations that his long time assistant Jerry Sandusky sodomized boys over a 15 year period from 1994 to 2009; the report rocked College Station in western PA.
As a result, Paterno has announced that he will resign as head coach of the Nittany Lions once the season ends after the school's bowl game in December; the news is a shame considering Paterno is the winningest coach in college football, and one of the most respected men in the game even at the his advanced age of 84.
Reports surfaced that Sandusky was caught raping boys in the Penn State locker room on two seperate occasions in 1998 and 2002. Paterno was notified immediately in 2002 and the only thing he did was call the athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, to notify them; the three parties did nothing further to restrict Sandusky's presence with the team; in fact, they encouraged it, as the perv hung around the team complex for nine more years, helping out, even though he wasn't the defensive coordinator.
Paterno isn't charged with any wrong doing, but he is defiantly at fault. He allowed rapes to occur on his watch for 15 years, and did nothing to stop it. Even though reports are that the rapes started in 1994, who is to say that Sandusky hadn't been doing this for decades at Penn State; heck, he had worked with Paterno since 1969!!
Many point to the fact that he never notified police which is a point well-taken, but as Head Coach of a prestigious university, Paterno should have taken matters into his own hands and stopped Sandusky in his tracks way back in 1998; but he didn't, allowing him to remain on the staff until 1999 when Sandusky "retired," permitting him to remain a part of his team ever since.
Paterno's lack of action speaks volumes about his character right now, and this is a guy who was considered a good character guy for decades.
It says even more about Paterno and the university when hundreds of students lined up in front of Paterno's house cheering him on and shouting their support for him. Paterno came out of his house with a big grin on his face, like it was a pep rally, and said it is time to "pray" for the victims, and expressed his love and affection for the fans, who cheered even louder. Paterno then headed back into his house, chanting "We are Penn State" with the fans.
No wonder people never take Penn State seriously as an institution.
Paterno should have left the game a long time ago. Over the last number of years, he has stopped coaching from the sideline, instead sitting up in the coaches booth, and never wore a head set while up there to talk to the coaches on the sideline. It came across like he was serving as a figure head, rather than a head coach.
Penn State should be ashamed of itself, Paterno should be ashamed of himself, the fans outside his house should be embarrassed, and the reputation of the football program will never be the same ever again. Good ridiance to a man in a position of authority who failed to do what was right ... protecting the students and the kids of his town.
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