If you were watching ESPN this morning, you were quickly made aware of a more fuel being added to the fire burning at Penn State - Joe Paterno announced that he will retire at the end of the season. This comes in the midst of what is apparently the uncovering of a huge scandal that has rocked the university community and will likely result in a number of high level administrators losing their jobs, as it has been revealed that there was a failure to report sexual abuse that occurred on campus.
Beyond the bigger story that is in the headlines, the announcement by Joe Paterno has some very questionable timing that really makes me question his announcement. For starters, I think Paterno was aware of the abuse, or at least attempted to be willfully blind to the report given to him, and I think that he is likely just as guilty as any other party involved. If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. Once an individual is made aware of abuse like this, that individual has a moral duty to act - his failure to do is troubling.
However, moving on to the timing of his announcement, it seems like a desperate attempt to save face and maintain some semblance of control. I am aware that Paterno has a lot of student support, but I think it likely that when everything comes to light it will erode a good bit. You can be a great man and make a terrible mistake, which I think is exactly what happened here. So the question is, why announce that he is retiring at the end of the season?
It seems that Paterno is trying to balance the Board of Trustees potentially kicking him out, avoiding pressure to resign, trying not to let his players down, retire with dignity, and protect Penn State - however, I think his grasp for control that he will be retiring at the end of the season was nothing more than a desperate attempt from losing his job now. It will be easier for the Board to say, "Fine, let the guy finish out the season - we can buy that much time," instead of justifying canning him immediately now, which would no doubt have a lot of flare-ups in the community.
Nice work Paterno. You likely played a card that will save you from being fired - whether you deserve to or not.
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