Scandal, Not Cancer, Is What Killed Joe Paterno

By: Toby Christie – http://twitter.com/tobalical

Jerry Sandusky is credited with molesting at least 40 young boys between 1994 and 2009. He has undoubtedly warped the lives of these young men, that he originally set out to help when he founded the Second Mile Foundation. Now Sandusky’s actions have led to the death of the most iconic coach in college football history.

Just 365 days ago we all wondered, “How much longer will JoePa keep this up?”

The then 84-year old coach Joe Paterno was in seemingly great health after recovering from broken bones suffered on the sidelines in 2006, and in practice in 2008. He still exerted amazing spunk for his age, and after another bowl appearance in 2010 (his sixth consecutive) it appeared his job was safe for as long as he wanted to keep it.

Paterno was even heard via radio before the 2011 season saying that he intended on coaching for at east five more seasons. Fast forward to  January 22, 2012 – We have lost Joe Paterno.

Officially the cause of Paterno’s death appears to have been related to lung cancer, which his son Scott announced that he had been diagnosed with back in November. Unofficially – in my mind at least – it was the recent PennState sexual abuse scandal that ultimately claimed the life of one of the greatest coaches in the history of the profession.

Stress and sadness can do a lot of mysterious things – and there was no shortage of either in the final months of the life of Joe Paterno. His life was turned upside down. His job was stripped from him, the media who had loved him for so long had crucified him, and people were unjustly turning him into a monster.

Paterno lived a proud life as the head football coach of PennState University. During his 61-year tenure as the head coach at PSU, Paterno had a philosophy of “school first, football second” as he shaped the lives of every young man that came through his locker room. In all Paterno had 250 of his former players succeed and play in the NFL, as staggering as that number is, it pales in comparison to the number of players who finished their tenure at PennState with a diploma.

In College football you have to cheat to win. Paying players, falsifying transcripts and faking test scores are all common practice to make sure that your stars are on the field on game day. Paterno never sunk to this level, and guess what? 409 victories later he was the winningest coach in NCAA history.

In addition to coaching Paterno donated over $4 million back to the school in which he loved.

Let’s remember Paterno, not for a scandal and all of the evil that someone on the PennState staff caused, but let’s remember him for his contributions to his college, his innovations on the game, and above all else his integrity.