MY BRIEFS: … I never met Joe Paterno. But in my lack of personal knowledge, I still was able to discern a man who had a loving marriage to his wife and a loving marriage to his significant other—Penn State University. All the goods of this man who rose to a higher stature because of his everyday actions have now been forgotten, overlooked and swept under the carpet. And when the marriage to his significant other fractured because of the insidious and repulsive actions of another—just as many older people do facing an illness that would require all of their fighting spirit—he ran out of gas, gave up and died.
In his death, he became the perfect scapegoat. Unable to fight back, Joe Pa gave the university that gained so much from his association with it one final gift. The administrators, officers and board of directors could now deflect criticism of their failures, not to the perpetrator removed from the gaze of society by the criminal justice system, but to the man whom they revered for over 40 years and were proud to say they knew personally. Jo Pa gave the gift of crucification of his person and image because he had already given up and died… (more)
