(Editor's note: The Daily News-Record is entering into a partnership with Yahoo and Rivals.com to bring you even more in-depth coverage of JMU athletics. That means much of the content you used to read here will be moving to the new JMU Rivals site when it is launched this weekend. I'll still be using this space to share my thoughts and musings on the world of sports, JMU, CAA and beyond. I hope you find time to read and enjoy both sites, follow me on twitter @mikeabarber and, as always, read the Daily News-Record. Thanks!)
HARRISONBURG, Va. – From the Miracle On Ice, to Munich, to Magic Johnson retiring due to HIV, to Mike Tyson biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear, to Dale Earnhardt dying in a crash at Dayton, to malice at the Place, time has proven anything can happen in the world of sports.
Still, I never thought I’d read the headline, “Joe Paterno Fired.”
Those words hit televisions, websites and newspapers everywhere Wednesday. They shot through cyberspace on Facebook, twitter and message boards.
Joe Paterno, 84 years old and for more than half of those years a symbol of what college athletics were supposed to be all about, was fired over the phone Wednesday in the aftermath of accusations that his former defensive coordinator had sexually assaulted an untold number of young boys, with some incidents allegedly occurring on campus.
At my alma mater, Rutgers, Paterno’s Penn State program was a combination blue print on how to do things the right way and a gold standard of what RU hoped to become.
Penn State was a state school that had pursued and achieved big-time success in college football without selling its soul, sacrificing its academics or corrupting its primary mission.
In my four years at Rutgers, the school never had to deal with anything on the scale of this PSU mess. In my nine years covering James Madison, that school hasn’t faced anything like this. But then again, who has?
Still, I can’t imagine any institution – university, business or government – bungling the handling of a scandal as badly as Penn State has.
Legendary football coach Joe Paterno, the university said, was fired because it was in the best interests of the university to fire him. Not because he failed to report alleged sexual abuse going on right under his nose, even after it was brought to his attention.
He was let go because that would make things easier for the people at PSU.
Penn State stumbled onto the right decision – Joe had to go – but not for the right reason.
Detractors of Paterno – the winningest coach in major college football and an icon in American sports – will accuse him of turning a blind eye to the alleged, disgusting accusations to preserve his legacy and keep his reputation squeaky clean. His supporters will argue he did everything he was legally required to do by reporting the information to his boss.
As usual, the truth falls somewhere in between.
I read this once about corporations in America, but I think it aptly applies here. Almost anyone can run a big-time business on a good day. What CEOs are paid ridiculous, astronomical salaries for is to navigate through the rare but possible really, really bad days.
Penn State and Paterno had mostly good, sometimes great days, during the coach’s 46 years there.
But when Penn State needed Paterno most, it wasn’t the day it clinched the 1982 national title or the day it won his second championship following the 1986 season.
It didn’t come en route to any of three Big Ten titles or 37 bowl appearances.
When Penn State needed Paterno most, it was the day a graduate assistant came into his office and – if nothing else – brought to the coach’s attention that something inappropriate had happened.
And on that day, Joe Paterno failed in his role as PSU’s coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment