Joe Paterno should be glad he's 84.
At least now he can provide a senility defense if somebody brings up the fact that his statement contradicts information in the grand jury indictment of former Penn State University defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Paterno can also take solace in knowing that after the Sandusky scandal inevitably leads to Paterno's resignation/termination as head coach that he can say he coached for 62 years under the façade of doing things the right way.
This is the type of thing that stains a legacy. And I'm not talking about a small ketchup stain. I'm thinking gasoline and lit matches being thrown onto the JoePa we thought we knew just last week.
For those late to the party, Sandusky is being charged with 40 criminal counts of sex abuse for his actions toward under-aged boys. JoePa had direct knowledge of an incident involving one of his victims, and he did little about it.
In 2002, according to the grand jury's 23-page summary of the Sandusky investigation, graduate assistant Mike McQueary walked into the Penn State locker room to find Sandusky, in the shower, sodomizing a boy about 10 years old.
A distraught McQueary told Paterno of the incident the next day. Instead of doing the right thing and going to the police, Paterno chose to inform athletic director Tim Curley. According to Paterno's testimony, he reported that McQueary had seen Sandusky "in the Lasch Building showers fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy."
Wait a second.
That makes it clear Paterno knew something wrong went down. Which begs the question: Why did Paterno deny knowledge of the incident in his statement to the public this week?
"While I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention, like anyone else involved I can't help but be deeply saddened these matters are alleged to have occurred," he said.
Paterno went on to say the following: "As my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room facility. It was clear that the witness saw something very inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As Coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at the time, I referred the matter to university administrators."
This is JoePa denying all responsibility. He claims to not have knowledge of what happened but he testified that something inappropriate occurred. In a case involving sexual abuse of a child, you go to the police, not the athletic director.
Curley has stepped down. So has University Vice President Gary Schultz. Paterno should be next to lose his job.
He had a moral, if not legal, obligation to inform the police. He is the czar of Happy Valley. This scandal is big news. It will result in the end of Paterno's 62-year coaching career. And the stain of this incident will be something Paterno won't be able to recover from.
It doesn't matter that Paterno has the most wins in Division I football history. Years from now, when people look back at the JoePa era, the first thing they'll examine will be the tragedy that was Jerry Sandusky, and how Paterno had the power to stop him and refused to do so.