not so happy valley

Growing up in central Pennsylvania, I strayed from the social norm - I never cheered for Penn State football. In fact, as I came of age as a sports fan I developed a general dislike for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions. I found their style of play to be dated and felt that the Weekend-at-Happy-Valley charade surrounding Joe Pa the better part of the last decade was holding the team back. As a football fan, and a Pennsylvanian, I wanted more from my state's flagship college football program.

But the events that have unfolded in the last week at Penn State have little to do with football. Yes, Joe Paterno was the head football coach at the University for the last 46 years. However, his job, first and foremost, was to be an educator, a leader and a counselor for the young adults inhabiting his campus. In that regard, Joe Paterno failed.

Not only did he fail, he did so in an egregious fashion. The Penn State Board of Trustees fired Joe Paterno last night. He was not allowed to coach out the rest of the year nor was he allowed to resign. He was fired, and appropriately so.

The full extent of the scandal is yet to be known and may never be known. More details will surface in the days and weeks ahead, and if there is any truth to reports like those heard on WEEI radio this morning, then we have merely stumbled upon the tip of the iceberg so far. At the very least we know that then graduate assistant Mike McQueary informed Joe Paterno that he witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a pre-adolescent male in the showers of the Penn State locker room in 2002. Paterno reported the incident to his athletic director, but all three men failed to contact a true authority.

Paterno continued to grant Sandusky, who retired several years prior - apparently under suspicion of illicit behavior with a young boy, access to the Penn State football facilities and allowed him to maintain an office on campus. He knowingly enabled Sandusky to use the grandeur of Penn State football to lure minors to campus, where he reportedly took advantage of them. How much Joe Paterno knew is debatable, but it's an inarguable point that he knew of at least one incident, and that should have been enough.

I applaud the Board of Trustees for acting so swiftly this week, but condemn them and the University's upper-level administration for allowing this situation to fester on their campus for over a decade. I felt years ago that Paterno's dismissal was warranted for football reasons - now I know that his removal, as well as the removal of others, was necessary for the safety and welfare of the many victims of this story.

I'm not the first to write or utter these words, and I won't be the last. After 409 victories as the head football coach at Penn State University, there will be no iconic image of Joe Pa walking off the field for the final time. Instead, the lasting image of Paterno's legacy will be the meandering musings of a confused old man who fails to comprehend the gravity of his failure to act.