College Football, Penn State and Joe Paterno

I haven’t weighed in on this. So here goes: Penn State did the right thing in firing coach Paterno.

I am not a Paterno hater and never have been. For one, he has done an excellent job at helping his players graduate year after year.
Example

GoPSUSports.com reports that Penn State and Stanford have tied for the highest graduation rate among AP Top 25 football teams. The Nittany Lions’ graduation rate is also second in the Big Ten, behind Northwestern. Here are the top 10 Graduation Success Rates among FBS teams.

1. Notre Dame
2. Northwestern
3. Boston College, Duke, Rice
6. U.S. Naval Academy
7. Rutgers
8. U.S. Military Academy, Miami (Fla.)
10. Penn State, Stanford

A number of Penn State football players earned Dean’s List honors last year.

That is just one year, and it is not at all atypical.

His on the field record; sterling.

He started as head coach in 1966…when Vince Lombardi was coaching the Packers….the FIRST year of the Super Bowl.
He went: 24-12-1 in bowls
He had 5 undefeated teams
He had 6 one loss teams
He had 9 two loss teams
He won 2 national championships
He won 3 big 10 titles (remember Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1990).

And yes, he compiled these records against stout opposition; don’t take my word for it. Go to the historical results and judge for yourself.

Time and time again he matched football wits with coaches like Lou Holtz and Jimmy Johnson…and frequently bested them.

I admire his success on the field and his graduation rates.

But when he has one of his graduate assistants report directly to him that one of his coaches was raping a kid…and he doesn’t call the police?

The University couldn’t afford to have him on the sidelines representing the university in such a public way.

Believe me, as a football fan, I am saddened by this. Of course, I am more sad for the victims…much more sad for them. Here, one victim (of another pedophile) speaks out; he was a former Notre Dame and Green Bay lineman.