Leave the Statue

I had heard the name Joe Paterno, but frequently confused it Rick Pitino, the college basketball coach. I had never even seen him before the Sandusky Scandal.

My introduction JoePa's philosophy came by way of an article in the Wall Street Journal. In 2007, almost 24 players stormed an apartment with the intent of beating the living daylights out of its occupants. Six were eventually charged.

If you break into an apartment with the purpose of seriously injuring the people who are there,

and you get caught,

doesn't integrity say you accept and suffer the consequences of your actions?

Yet JoePa preferred to have the team spend two hours picking up trash after a game. It seems he did not want the players to be held legally accountable; he certainly didn't want them to miss any game time.

I was confused. What integrity were they crowing about when people spoke of Joe Paterno? Because if his definition of integrity did not include being responsible for the consquences for your actions, then what definition was he using?

Based on the Freeh report, Paterno knew what Sandusky did. With this being my only exposure to his philosophy, I was not surprised.

Nonetheless, his statue should stay.

His legacy is now an example of the chasm between what we seek to be and what we are. Let his statue remind us to continue striving to shrink that gap.