The fall of Joe Paterno?

Does it have to end this way? Apparently, it does.

In the wake of a scandal involving a former Penn State defense coordinator, who has been indicted on 40 counts of sexually abusing eight boys over the course of 15 years, the NYT is reporting that Penn State’s Board of Trustees has had discussions about handling the departure of iconic football head coach Joe Paterno. The details are few and far between, and there is no indication of whether JoePa will resign or be fired. JoePa’s son, Scott, has told the media his father plans to coach the Nittany Lions for the long haul.

Though I knew about the scandal, I was unfamiliar with the fine details and read through the coverage from beginning to present on ESPN’s Big Ten blog. Basically, it goes a little something like this: In 2002, Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary, then a gradate assistant, witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abuse a 10-year-old boy in a shower room. McQueary told JoePa what he saw, and JoePa alerted athletic director Tim Curley. JoePa apparently fulfilled his legal obligations by alerting Curley. McQueary then discussed the matter with Curley and (for some reason) Gary Schultz, Penn State’s senior vice president for finance and business. Instead of notifying law enforcement or a child protective agency, which is required by law in Pennsylvania, or making any effort to identify the victim, Curley and Schultz decided Sandusky could no longer bring children affiliated with his charity into the football building. PSU president Graham Spanier approved the measure and Sandusky’s status at the school did not change.

Essentially, they protected the football program at the expense of the victim.

Curley and Schultz were charged with perjury for lying to a grand jury investigating the matter, and both resigned late Sunday night. Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly had this to say:

“The failure of top university officials to act on reports of Sandusky’s alleged sexual misconduct, even after it was reported to them in graphic detail by an eyewitness, allowed a predator to walk free for years — continuing to target new victims… Equally disturbing is the lack of action and apparent lack of concern among those same officials, and others who received information about this case, who either avoided asking difficult questions or chose to look the other way.”

Obviously, that includes JoePa.

Unless we learn otherwise, JoePa is not legally implicated in the scandal, but he is deeply embroiled. For someone so charitable and caring, especially in regards to children’s causes, it is shocking he never reported the incidents involving Sandusky to authorities. Shamefully, my knee jerk reaction is to come to Paterno’s defense, to hope he did nothing wrong, but his failure to take the matter more seriously is inexcusable and unacceptable.

As a fan of college football, this is hard to believe. For such an icon to fall from grace in such a disturbing way seems unimaginable. Does it have to end this way? I think it does.