RIP Joe Paterno
Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno passed away today of lung cancer, just two months after his reputation was irreparably tarnished by his alleged failure to respond forcefully enough to allegations of child abuse. It is, first of all, very sad that such a successful and celebrated coach had to spend the last months of his life not only fighting a painful disease but also knowing that his standing would be forever diminished in the eyes of many people. Second of all, Paterno is another example of our society’s tendency to punish people who are merely accused of wrongdoing, not found guilty. As Judge H. Lee Sarokin pointed out, Paterno was fired before the facts of the case could be determined, similarly to how Dominique Strauss-Kahn was pressured into resigning from the IMF after being accused of sexual assault, and how Herman Cain ended up quitting his presidential campaign after allegations of sexual harassment and an affair. Although Paterno faced no charges and spent no time in jail, for his career to end so abruptly and on such a bad note is undoubtedly a punishment. Yes, sexual abuse is a crime that should be punished severely, but considering the fact that Paterno is not accused of abusing anyone, that he actually reported the abuse allegations to his immediate supervisor, and that his only arguable mistake was not reporting the allegations personally to police, I think it is sad that his career and life ended the way that they did.