A week ago, Joe Paterno was the most revered coach in college football. This week he may be unemployed.
His Penn State team recently defeated Illinois, making Paterno the winningest coach in Division I history. He has been head coach of the Nittany Lions for 46 years, winning two national titles. He was renowned for the honesty and integrity with which he taught and coached. Now he has been linked to a horrible scandal involving his former defensive coordinator.
Jerry Sandusky has been charged with 40 criminal counts related to the sexual abuse of young boys. Nine years ago, a graduate assistant saw one such incident and reported it to the coach. Paterno did what policy dictates–he referred the allegation to athletic director Tim Curley, and university vice president Gary Schultz was informed as well. But neither took action. While Curley and Schultz have now been charged with perjury and failure to report the alleged crimes, Paterno will not be charged with a crime. However, he apparently did nothing to pursue the investigation.
