by Robert King

Created on: February 16, 2012   Last Updated: February 17, 2012

Brushing aside questions of abuse does not reflect good leadership...

Joe Paterno will go down in his field and life's work as one of the greatest college football coaches of all times. However he will also be remembered as the man who allowed his coach to do some pretty horrible things to children. At this time these accounts have not been officially confirmed but they are being appropriately investigated. The fact that they are being appropriately investigated years later sends a clear message that there should have been more done when the allegations initially surfaced.

Now I cannot say what or how I would have responded if something like this were brought to my attention but this is "Joe Pa" the leader of the pack! I can understand the question of how much is enough when it comes to reporting but if you are a leader you do enough. Enough is complete it is not questionable unless you think you have not done enough or you are sure that you have done enough. In this case Joe Paterno later stated that he wished he had done more. However its too late now and the lack of a decisive enough led to the remorse that we all witnessed when the story surfaced. So yes the abuse scandal at Penn State will affect the legacy of one of the greatest coaches ever.

My biggest question would be how could we overlook a lack of decision on this great leaders part? Here is a man who used the better part of his life to raise men. What type of men did he surround these budding young men as he was developing their character as men and future leaders in society. I know football is only a game but there are parts of the game about honor and respect that are totally violated when someone overlooks the actions that are being described in the reports against Sandusky.

If Joe Pa had simply used his celebrity and name to investigate the situation and address the issue, I think he would still be the Penn State coach. Though Joe Pa is gone today he will always have a place in my heart as a great coach but it will be hard not to ever judge him as a flawed leader that forgot one of the most important traits of leadership. He needed to know the hearts of the people he was leading.

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