is a syndicated columnist and author of
"The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House." He is a
commentator for the TV One cable network and host/managing editor of its
Sunday morning news show, "Washington Watch with Roland Martin."
(CNN) -- After years and years of over-the-top stories attesting to the character, honor, integrity and moral fiber of the late Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, we now know, after reading the 267-page Penn State internal report on child predator Jerry Sandusky, that Paterno was nothing more than a narcissistic, arrogant coward.
The report by former FBI
director Louis Freeh details the shameful conduct of top officials at
Penn State, including Paterno, who cared more about negative publicity
than young boys being scarred for life.
"The most powerful men at
Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the
children who Sandusky victimized," the report concluded.
Roland Martin
Imagine that. For 14
years they were silent and complicit in Sandusky's sexual abuse. For 14
years Paterno, President Graham Spanier, Athletic Director Tim Curley
and Vice President Gary Schultz could have picked up the phone to call
the cops and tell what they knew about Sandusky sexually assaulting
young boys. But they didn't. All they cared about was negative attention
and how it might reflect on the program and the university.
Please, don't bother with
the petty justifications, rationalizations and calls to look forward
instead of back. How can any man or woman, Penn State alum or not,
stomach even hearing Paterno's name or seeing his face after reading how
he played an integral role in covering up the vile and evil sexual
misdeeds of his former defensive coordinator?
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Paterno was treated like a
saint in Happy Valley; in some quarters, he was a little "g" god. He
was the man above reproach. He had more power than any other official on
campus; possibly in the state. He's famous for saying he stayed in
coaching because had he left, "it would leave college football in the
hands of the Jackie Sherrills and Barry Switzers," two coaches known for
their winning ways, and for breaking NCAA rules along the way.
But Paterno didn't break
NCAA rules in covering up for his buddy Sandusky, and allowing the coach
a clear field to wreak havoc on the lives of numerous young men. What
Paterno did break was the moral code that every man and woman should
abide by.
If Penn State officials
or Pennsylvania politicians had any guts, they would strip the
university bare of anything adorned with the name Joe Paterno. What his
teams accomplished on the field is impressive, but no one can turn a
blind eye to the failed leadership he exhibited off the field.
And as The New York Times detailed in a story
Saturday, Paterno clearly sensed his reign coming to an end and decided
to selfishly cash out. He lied repeatedly about his knowledge of
Sandusky's sexual attacks, and did all he could to milk millions out of
Penn State. I hope the families of the victims go after his estate for
every penny and more.
By leaving his name on
buildings and his statue up, decades from now people will hail his work
on the field and not think about the devastation he allowed to happen
off the field. If sports fans nationwide could heap scorn on Barry Bonds
and Roger Clemens for allegedly taking steroids, then a special place
in sports hell should be reserved for Paterno.
Football is nothing more than a game. But Sandusky raping young boys is a matter of life and death, of innocence lost.
In the aftermath of
Sandusky's arrest, Paterno was treated as a victim, a man who was caught
up in something he wasn't aware of. Now we know that was a lie.
Freeh produced the
documents showing Paterno, his family and his legion of supporters lied
in order to protect Paterno's name. All he cared about was breaking the
all-time record set by Grambling State head coach Eddie Robinson.
Paterno, and the other
Penn State lackeys, had to know that turning Sandusky in could prevent
"JoePa" from breaking that record. So they all stayed silent, and all
the while young boys suffered in their own silence.
When it's time to name
the great coaches of college football, Robinson, Bear Bryant, Amos
Alonzo Stagg and Knute Rockne will certainly be mentioned. Prior to the
Freeh report, Paterno would have been on that list. But his actions in
the Sandusky affair destroyed everything he accomplished in his career.
Great coaches make the
tough calls. When Paterno failed to make the toughest call of his life
-- to the police to turn in his longtime friend -- he did more than cost
his team a victory. Young boys lost something they can never recover.
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