They reveal how little character Paterno really had. Paterno’s comments about his choices are sad and pathetic. on the fateful day when Joe Paterno heard what had happened, he made a conscious decision to protect his legacy at the expense of a child’s life and wellbeing. Nothing could stand in the way of that not even a little boy being raped in the showers of his football complex. At some point in his journey, something clicked, and he knew that he could become the greatest of all time. As the wins piled up and the national championships were won, Paterno became about one thing-Paterno. But somewhere along the line, his goal changed from building character to building legacy. ![]() That’s not to say that Paterno did not begin with a legitimate goal to instill “Success with Honor” in his players. For Paterno himself, however, the slogan was simply a mirage-a hollow credo without character. Joe Paterno was known for the slogan that defined his football program: “Success with Honor.” For sixty-one years, he sought to instill that idea into the hearts and lives of his players. And ultimately, when the truth finally came out, he suffered the swift justice of a legacy-destroying ouster from the school. Worst of all, when it appeared that nothing would be done, he simply allowed the incident to be swept under the giant Penn State rug, and continued his pursuit of football immortality. And, it appears, he never tried to find out what happened to the little boy in question and never followed up to see if the police had been informed. Rather than report it to the police, however, he simply pushed the matter up the administrative chain of command. He had received an eye-witness report that Sandusky had raped a boy in the team showers. What made the story worse is that Paterno knew about the situation. That same week, Paterno’s long-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on charges of molesting 10 boys over the span of 15 years, some of whom were molested in the football facilities at Penn State. Ironically, he accomplished his greatest achievement the week before he was fired-he won his record 409 th career game, making him the winningest coach in NCAA Division One history. During those years, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships. He became the head coach in 1966, a position he held until his recent firing amid the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal. Joe Paterno began his coaching career at Penn State in 1950, serving as an assistant coach for fifteen years.
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