The Loss of a Legacy

Its often been said that it takes years to build a legacy and just 5 minutes to bring it down.

Never has this phrase rung more true than with this week's unveiling of the ongoing issues concerning Jerry Sandusky's pedophilia and its impact on a Penn State football program that sought to keep it under wraps. 

Joe Paterno is a man of integrity, I do not doubt that. He is arguably the greatest coach in the history of college football, although one has to recognize that many of his records are as much the result of longevity as they are of prowess. Just to be a voice of reason, Penn State has only won three conference titles since joining the Big Ten in 1993, two of those being titles shared with Ohio State. 

But Joe Paterno's legacy for integrity and football dominance has been completely wiped away by the allegations that were made public Saturday. Joe Paterno's legacy is now that of a football coach who ignored sexual abuse going on in his program. Even his 409 wins will fail to overshadow that.

While many in the Penn State community are likely to be angered at this point, it is set in stone at this point. Unless Sandusky is found innocent of the crimes he is charged with, Paterno will find himself unable to avoid the association. 

The problem for Paterno is that this wasnt just some rogue assistant, this was his heir apparent, his defensive coordinator, his "number 2". 

Whether he knew or not, Paterno should have known. The allegations against Sandusky were not new and yet he didnt see all that interested in taking Sandusky out of the program, let alone off the streets. 

Joe Paterno should not coach on Saturday. The storm of emotions that are sure to swarm Beaver Stadium will do disservice not only to current players, players trying to hold onto a two-game lead in the Big Ten leaders' division, but more importantly to victims who right now deserve not to have to see the man who had the power to keep them away from harm cheered in his final home game.

Paterno should go out quietly and a final home game will certainly but anything but. Retire now and in a year or so, you can come back and get the warm farewell that you still deserve.

But right now is not the time to do a victory lap. Because with sexual abuse allegations like this, there are no victors.