Sue Paterno called it an "endless process of character assassination." She, like thousands of others, refuses to believe any of the accusations against her late husband, Joe Paterno. The Paterno loyalists stand together always, fighting off what they believe to be hearsay, ready to defend his honor against all challenges. Nothing will deter them.
But there also are thousands who believe just as strongly that Joe Paterno was a monster. Nothing will change their mind. They are convinced, now more than ever after new developments last week, that he covered up for serial child molester Jerry Sandusky to protect his Penn State football program.
One line in a court document in an insurance case involving Penn State alleged Paterno was told of Sandusky's child abuse in 1976, 3 1/2 decades before Sandusky's arrest in 2011. A CNN story quoted an alleged Sandusky victim as saying he told Paterno in 1971 that he was raped by Sandusky in a Penn State bathroom and was told by Paterno, "Stop this [talk] right now!"
Paterno died of lung cancer in January 2012, just two months after Sandusky's arrest. He never really had a chance to explain what he knew and when he knew it, although he did testify briefly before an investigating grand jury late in his life at a time when he wasn't completely lucid. Sadly, he can't defend himself against the new charges.
We will never know the truth.
They still will be passionately debating Paterno's legacy -- his rightful place in history -- long after all of us are gone.
I know what I believe.
I guess I fall somewhere between the fiercely loyal Paterno supporters and the harshest Paterno critics.
I never believed Paterno was Saint Joe, as he liked to be portrayed. He was a human being with many faults, just like the rest of us. He could be peevish and condescending. He was known to hold a grudge.
In the Sandusky case, his response wasn't good enough after learning in 2001 about a Sandusky assault from Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary. Paterno said he passed the information up the Penn State food chain, which met his legal obligation. But he had a responsibility to follow the matter through to completion. I don't think Paterno had bosses at Penn State, anyway. I am among many who believe he was the most powerful man in Pennsylvania during most of his coaching career.
"With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more," Paterno said a few days after Sandusky's arrest.
I wish Paterno had done more, too.
But I can't bring myself to believe Paterno knowingly covered up the Sandusky atrocities. That truly would make him a monster. But that is not the Paterno I knew. It's not even close.
I read the CNN story, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Sara Ganim. It is powerful. A man, now 60, told her he was 15 when he was raped by Sandusky, then 26 and a Penn State assistant football coach, in 1971. He said his foster parents made him report the incident to Penn State officials and he ended up on the telephone with men named Jim and Joe.
"They were asking me my motive, why I would say this about someone who has done so many good things," the man told CNN.
The man said he had no idea who "Jim" was, but he's certain about "Joe."
"I've heard that voice a million times. It was Joe Paterno."
I still can't believe it.
As Paterno's family has noted, that goes against everything about the life he led. The good he did for thousands of Penn State students can't be denied.
It wasn't just about football, although he used it to bring fame and fortune to the school. Paterno backers still are furious that officials removed the Paterno statue from outside Beaver Stadium, but that seems like such a petty complaint. I don't care if it ever goes back up. If they want a Paterno statue, they should put one up outside Paterno Library on the Penn State campus. That would be more significant. Paterno and his wife raised over $18 million for the facility.
None of this is to suggest Paterno is the primary victim in this horrific story. He is not. The only true victims are the kids who were molested by Sandusky. Their lifetime of pain has been so much greater than the Paterno family's pain as it fights to protect Paterno's good name. Paterno would tell you that if he still were alive.
"This is a tragedy," he said after Sandusky's arrest. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."
On that, the Paterno loyalists and critics can agree.
It is the only thing.
Sports on 05/11/2016