On the recordFebruary 9, 2012
As a Penn State graduate, I would like to add to this evening's special order on the career of Joe Paterno by sharing a column by Bill Kline that ran in newspapers across the country following Paterno's death. [From the Tribune, Jan. 23, 2012] Paterno Built Penn State On, Off the Field (By Bill Kline) Every great man has a flaw. Critics of Joe Paterno, who died Sunday at 85, will cite at least one flaw of the legendary Penn State football coach-- what they will call his poor moral judgment in the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal involving the Second Mile charity and Penn State. That assertion might be argued for decades, as JoePa's proponents will say that he did nothing wrong and did what he was supposed to do a decade ago when he received information about his former assistant coach Sandusky--Paterno told his superiors and asked them to look into it. But whatever side of the argument you support, know this about Joseph Vincent Paterno: No one did more for Penn State University and, in turn, its hundreds of thousands of students--not just for the athletes--over the past six decades. And likely no one ever did more for Penn State in the 157-year history of the institution built on former farmland in rural central Pennsylvania. You see, rightly or wrongly, Penn State had an image of an agricultural college when Paterno arrived on campus in 1950-- and even to some degree when he became head coach in 1966.…
