I still have things I want to say about this - long-winded, hopefully thoughtful things - but for now I just wanted to note that, after Penn State's Joe Paterno announced today that he'd retire at the end of the football season following the indictment of his former assistant Jerry Sandusky for numerous counts of sexual abuse, Penn State's Board of Trustees fired him effective immediately. They also fired the university's president.
It should go without saying that this is the right decision. For now, I'll set aside the ethical arguments and just focus on the cold, hard calculus of image management. Some are protesting that Paterno, with his 50+ year history coaching at Penn State, should be allowed to leave on his own terms*. But that would mean that this would continue to drag on for the next three weeks, minimum. The Big Ten can't be wild about the possibility of this stink clinging to their championship game. If Penn State makes a high-profile bowl game, ye gods. Ok, the football players shouldn't be punished for their coach's monumental failure of morality... but at least cutting JoePa loose now gives the team at least the possibility of moving on.
I've also read the argument about how much Paterno has done for the university over the years, and how much money he helps raise. Um... exactly. Like the Penn State advancement office is going to ask JoePa to sign a fundraising letter or make an appearance at an event right now. The Penn State community is hurting, and they're angry. They just learned that their god of "winning with honor" turned a blind eye toward straight-up rape of a 10-year-old on campus. Sadly, there probably are Penn State alums and boosters out there who will threaten to withdraw their support out of JoePa love... but they are far, far outnumbered by the alumni and parents who want their school's honor back. After all, that "B.A., Penn State" is going to be on one's resume forever, and no one wants that tarnished.
The board made the right call. Only they should've done so days ago... or years ago.
*As I once wrote relating to Ben Roethlisberger, it's pretty rich for anyone to complain about being forced into something when... HELLO.
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