Today, I'm wearing my Proud Penn State University Alumni sweatshirt (it does irk me slightly that it does not have the singular, which would be more correct...). Currently at the library with a student, I will be heading to the watch the game with my alumni group soon, and I anticipate there will be a lot of talk about the scandal and Joe Pa and what it means for the school and what it means for us as proud alumni.
I felt a certain trepidation about wearing this sweatshirt out in public. Down here, the sex abuse and Joe Pa's firing are certainly not all over the news as I imagine they would be in Pennsylvania right now, and it's hard to say if many people down here even know what's going on. Still, I didn't want to be on the receiving end of any negativity, and publicizing my alum status could potentially invite that. After mulling it over for a little bit, I decided that the negative publicity has not diminished who I am as an alum of a great academic institution, and it has not made what my sweatshirt says untrue; I am a proud alum who loves what Penn State stands for - small-town kindness, integrity, teamwork, opportunity - even if individuals there have forgotten.
Despite my unwavering appreciation for the school I gave eight semesters to and that gave me priceless friendships, a solid academic and social education, and immeasurable joy in that time, I am disgusted by the actions of the few that reflect on the honor of the many. I am disgusted by Jerry Sandusky, those who were silent in the face of rape, those who continued to support the [alleged] rapist, and those who resorted to violence in the face of one man's firing. It saddens me that Penn State's reputation has been torn to shreds over what one man is said to have done and all the subsequent things that did or did not occur because of it. So many failures in the chain of command; so many failures in acceptable behavior...
I admire Joe Paterno a great deal for what he built at Penn State. I admire him for his loyalty to and support of the school and its students. I've never met him, never even seen him up close in person, but he seems like a decent man, a decent husband and father, and he is certainly an inspirational coach. But he made a choice to trust the wrong people, a choice to keep quiet because of that trust, and it was those choices that ultimately brought down his storied career. I may be in the minority on this, but as much as I admire Joe Paterno, and as much as I love my alma mater, I will not defend him more than to say that he is not the alleged abuser even if the media has irrevocably tied his name more often than Sandusky's to child rape. He's fired. Okay, let's move on. The football team has a new coach; the school has a new president; life goes on.
The board's decision to fire Paterno by phone was certainly callous, especially to such a legend, but legendary status does not make you immune to politics or public relations. Did he deserve better? Absolutely. Did he deserve to coach the last home game this season? I think so. I think he deserved to finish out the season, but does he deserve to be the one to decide? In this case, no. He is at the mercy of his employers, just as everyone else is. He is one man, a football coach, and he is not a deity, though it may seem that way at Penn State. Everyone up in arms about his firing needs to understand that what's done is done, and no amount of rioting and protest will get Joe Pa back in the coaches' box or on the sidelines. Get over it. It sounds cold to say that because of what Joe Pa means to the school, but there are so many things more important than this one man's job, his loss of that job, or his legacy.
He said he wished he'd done more. So do we, Joe, so do we.
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