In only what could be called a devastating and humiliating end to a storied career as one of America’s most revered and respected football coaches, the New York Times reported today that Penn State officials have acknowledged that within days or weeks they will announce the retirement of Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in the history of U.S. collegiate football.
Paterno, who was immortalized in a statue (top), will apparently be forced to retire after 46 seasons and 409 wins as the coach of the Nittany Lions, in light of recent revelations of serial child sexual abuse by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who had been considered a likely successor to Paterno at one time. According to media reports, Paterno was told in 2002 that Sandusky was observed by a graduate student sexually assaulting a male child in the Penn State football facility.
Sandusky has been charged with child sexual abuse of eight boys that occurred during a 15-year-period (see grand jury report), that was allowed to continue with impunity by Penn State University for failure to report the abuse to state authorities, as required by child welfare laws. Additionally, two top Penn State University officials, Gary Schultz, the senior vice president for finance and business, and Tim Curley, the athletic director — were charged with perjury and failure to report to authorities what they knew of the allegations, as required by state law.
According to the Penn State Athletic’s website, Curley requested administrative leave from the University Board of Trustees, who met yesterday in an executive session. Both officials are expected to turn themselves into legal authorities on Monday.
Paterno reported the incident to University officials in 2002. However, the University failed to follow through and report the alleged crimes by Sandusky as required by law. Consequently, Paterno has been roundly criticized for not following through, which is being viewed as a moral failure by social critics.
As public outrage escalates about the apparent child pedophilia scandal and its cover-up, this blog is betting that Paterno’s untimely and shocking demise will be quickly executed in view of the far-reaching public relations damage that will be done to Penn State University and its beloved Nittany Lions.
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(Images: Lion Shrine, Paterno)
Tanya L. Domi is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University who teaches about human rights in Eurasia and is a Harriman Institute affiliated faculty member. Prior to teaching at Columbia, Domi worked internationally for more than a decade on issues related to democratic transitional development, including political and media development, human rights, gender issues, sex trafficking, and media freedom.