Penn State honors late Joe Paterno for life-long service

Nearly three months after he was ousted as Penn State's football coach, the legendary Joseph Vincent Paterno died last Sunday at the age of 85 after his battle with lung cancer. On Wednesday, tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of University Park to give their final farewells during the funeral procession that followed Paterno's private memorial service, a Roman Catholic Mass attended by close friends and family.

Since the news of Paterno's death, the past week at State College has been a difficult whirlwind. For those belonging to the immediate and extended Penn State family, Joe Pa's death has been somewhat surreal. It was only a short time ago that Paterno recorded his Division 1 record-setting 409th career victory, capping an illustrious career that included five undefeated seasons and two national championships over the span of 46 seasons.

To the unaffiliated and uninformed, however, Paterno's death has simply been a tragic end to a legacy tarnished by his abrupt firing in the wake of child sex-abuse charges against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

For members of the Penn State community throughout the world and to those students, faculty, players and coaches who knew Paterno directly and were touched by his far-reaching generosity and philanthropy, Joe Pa was more of a grandfather-figure than simply a football coach.

In reflecting on Paterno's legacy, the victories and on-field success become secondary to his profound devotion and love for his family and for Penn State. Paterno was widely respected for his dedication to his players off the field, with a focus on building them into good people, husbands and fathers above all else.

"What's Joe's legacy? The answer is his legacy is us," Former Nittany Lion and NFL receiver Jimmy Cefalo told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Generations of these young people from coal mines and steel towns who he gave a foundation to. It's not 409 wins, it's not two national championships, and it's not five-time coach of the year (awards). It's us."

Say what you want about Paterno's mismanagement of the information he received from former assistant Mike McQueary regarding Sandusky's actions, but a man of Paterno's stature simply did not deserve this type of ending. After a lifetime of commitment to Penn State, Paterno's 60-year allegiance with the University was, in turn, repaid with disloyalty and disrespect. Many former players who attended the on-campus services voiced their displeasure with how the University, the Board of Trustees, in particular, embarrassingly handled the coach's dismissal.

"I don't agree with anything that went down," Former Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark told Comcast Sportsnet. "It was gross. To treat him like that, when he did so much for this school, for the players and the kids he helped graduate, for you to send him out like that, for the media to cover him that way, to fire him over the phone, it's not right. People on the Board, whether it's tomorrow or five years from now, they'll get what's coming to them."

Clark and other former players, most notably former Nittany Lion All-American and NFL All-Pro linebacker LaVar Arrington, reiterated the importance of reflecting on Paterno's life and career without including the events of the past few months. However, it is impossible to ignore the way in which John Surma, Vice Chairman for the Penn State Board of Trustees, treated the figurehead and soul of the University. Since Surma was unable to muster enough courage or decency to fire Paterno face-to-face, Paterno's termination came over the phone.

"After 61 years," Sue Paterno, Paterno's wife of 50 years, said to Surma, "he deserved better."

There is no denying that Joe Paterno's legacy will forever be clouded and complicated, largely because of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal that engulfed Stage College and the national media over the past few months. However, the heinous actions of another man should not tarnish a legacy that began so long ago. It is important to reflect on the life of a man who did so much for others, most of which was not football-related.

The allegations against Sandusky coupled with the general consensus that Paterno should have "done more" are fresh reminders of Penn State's recent struggles. Consequently, these days, they have become the primary associations made with Paterno. Hopefully, over time, Paterno will be seen in a different light. Paterno finally showed a glimmer of imperfection after decades of philanthropy and an emphasis on education and, as a result, suffered the worst possible punishment: his character was questioned. However, in typical Joe Pa fashion, and just two weeks before his death, Paterno responded to his firing and public disgracing by donating $100,000 to the University as part of his annual gift.