Penn State Shouldn’t Play Football or Honor Joe Paterno

With everything that happened at Penn State, why are the Nittany Lions playing football and furthermore, why are they still honoring Joe Paterno?

I am a Michigan football fan. I don’t like Ohio State or Michigan State or Notre Dame. I also don’t have any reason to object to the existence of their programs, unfortunately enough. That’s not the case for Michigan’s opponent this weekend.

Related Story: Michigan's Best Wins over Penn State

Penn State won’t get the dreaded death penalty if it hasn’t by now, which doesn’t make any sense considering the fact that SMU got the death penalty because their boosters bought cars and houses for eighteen year old kids.

The matchup tomorrow–and any game in which Penn State plays–is brought to you by a gun-shy, ineffectual NCAA disciplinary apparatus and an entrenched, sycophantic, and cynical group of former and current Penn State University officials, alumni, and fans.

Here’s a quick reading list to refresh your memory/stoke your rage if you’ve forgotten that this is a program that housed a child abuser for decades.

• Court Docs: Sandusky Victim Told To Write Apology Letter After Alleged Assault
• Sandusky victim: Joe Paterno told me to drop abuse accusation
• Unsealed Court Documents: Sandusky Abuse Allegation Was Reported To Joe Paterno In 1976
• PSU Prez Slams “Unsubstantiated” Accusations From Alleged Sandusky Victims
• Sandusky Case Bombshell: Did 6 Penn State Coaches Witness Abuse?
• Penn State Students Celebrate Lifted Sanctions, Chant Joe Paterno’s Name
• Joe Paterno Honored By Tone-Deaf Penn State Officials And Football Fans

Mike Wise wrote an insightful and wrenching piece rebuking the idea that Penn State gets to decide when it’s ok to forget about all of this, despite their dumbest and apparently best attempts (which included honoring Paterno’s first game as coach last week).

Not all PSU alumni, employees, and fans are Paterno/program apologists, obviously; some are wonderful people. Still, every fanbase has a vocal minority of fans that are terrible. They talk smack or worse to high school and college kids on the internet, yell profanities at stadiums, get into fights in parking lots, etc. I’m not sure if any rotten apples of any fan base can match the Paterno/Sandusky–or even just Paterno–apologists at Penn State.

What Paterno knew and when he knew it was nebulous for a while, but it isn’t really any longer. Those court documents claim he ignored the continued abuse of children for decades. For what? A middle-upper tier defensive coordinator? That’s sad and repulsive, yet here we are, only a short time later, and a contingent of Penn State fans still have enough pull to get the freaking guy officially honored during a game. They also won’t shut the hell up about Paterno’s victimhood because somehow there still must be some shred of evidence that vindicates him (there isn’t). In fact, the more info that comes out, the more heinous Paterno’s (non) actions seem.

Jay Paterno is a clown, but Joe was his dad, so I can kind of understand his need to make an ass of himself trying to defend him. For the life of me, I don’t understand the fervent pushback from Penn State fans when someone hints at the actual reality of the situation. Joe Paterno was still just a damn football coach whose glory years were well behind him before the vast majority of the students at the university and the fans in the stadium were even alive.

People do bad things and good things during their lives; two disputed national championships and a graduation rate slightly higher than Butch Davis’ are well and good, but that doesn’t negate the fact that court documents show he was involved in the abuse of children. For decades! Oh yeah, and sweet little ole’ Joe also hung an effigy of a referee outside of his house after a loss to Michigan. Seems like he had things in perspective.

Of course, it wasn’t just Paterno who sheltered Jerry Sandusky, but the PSU community has chosen him as its martyr. Make no mistake, though, mind numbing stupidity, cowardice, brazenness, and cynicism were prevalent throughout the athletic department and the university itself. There are no good guys in this story.

For the most embarrassing, nauseating scandal in NCAA history, Penn State’s punishment was about the same as USC’s was for buying Reggie Bush’s mom a house. Yet, to hear that (very) vocal minority tell it, they’re the victims. Problem is, there are actual victims in this case–unlike with SMU or USC–and they aren’t the ones defending the program.

Next: Top 10 Michigan Running Backs of All Time

I don’t really have a solution here, it’s just frustrating and kind of galling that this team is on the schedule. Hopefully this can serve as a friendly reminder that Penn State football shouldn’t exist (at least not right now).