The Fall of the Coach

This post while may not directly related to the world of soccer certainly resonates through the world of sports. I've been itching to write again and now seems like the perfect time...

The sports world went to sleep last night with hopes that everything they had learned was just a horrible nightmare, unfortunately when they woke up this morning to pictures of students rioting on the streets of Penn State University and a teary eyed Joe Paterno on his front steps they had to accept that everything had indeed been true and the legacy of a man had changed overnight.

First and foremost, I believe that firing Joe Paterno, an iconic legend for the past 45 years, was the right thing to do. Frankly, it had to be done. While Paterno was not guilty of any criminal activity in the sense of the law, in most people's eyes he did violate the moral codes which we attempt to live our lives within. Can any of us say we would do anything differently? That's a discussion for you and your conscience. But what everyone seems to agree on, including Paterno, is that the punishment fit the crime and today is the first day in nearly a half a decade that he didn't wake up a member of the Nittany Lion family.

However, the purpose of this wasn't to decide if the decision was right or wrong. It was to dive into why are people so upset? Words of hate and anger started spreading all over the social networks as soon as word was released that JoePa was fired. People wishing more ill-will on a man that clearly just had his heart and soul ripped from him. What I started wondering is what made this situation different? In a society that is programmed to desensitize itself from murders, suicides and child molestation why did this suddenly pull everyone out of their shell. Stories like this run on the news every night in cities around the country but few care, and most just brush it off like it's a normal part of life. In my opinion the difference here, Joe Paterno was, the coach.

To try and wrap my head around this I thought back to how fortunate I was to have some great coaches in my life, whether in was baseball, basketball  or soccer I have been lucky to have been influenced by some great men. The person I respect most in this world was my soccer coach from when I was 10 to 18 years old, Tom Erwin. To even try and calculate the hours I, and the rest of my teammates, spent under his watchful eye is crazy. We not only grew as soccer players, but as people, friends and men. And just like any other parents of athletic children our parents trusted him with our well-being and our safety on a daily basis. I'm sure most people can remember a coach who positively influenced their life and I think that is what makes the reactions to this situation such volatile ones. People can't believe that a person they put so much blind faith and trust in could hurt them so badly. A coach isn't supposed to do wrong, we do as they say, when they say it. Knowing that they would never lead us down the wrong path. Joe Paterno didn't let us down, our view of coaches let us down. We had built up a place where we were safe from the troubles of the outside world. On that field, rink or court we only had to worry about ourselves and the opponent, and we knew that our coach would set us up to succeed.  This situation shattered the glass and made us realize that the world is very, very real no matter where we are we can't hide and I think a lot of people, whether they played for Paterno or not, are feeling violated.

This will surely tarnish the memory of one of the greatest coaches in the history of American sports. But my question is, to what extent? To the casual fan, I'm sure this is all they will remember. Nothing else will matter, you will bring up his name and they will once again become angry and disgusted and by all means they have every right too. But do you really think his current and former players will feel that way? God forbid if I found out that one of my coaches was ever involved in a situation even half as bad as this but I tried to put myself in the situation of the literally thousands of student athletes Paterno has coached, mentored and loved over the years. They aren't going to remember JoePa as a man who didn't contact the authorities. They are going to remember him as a man who cared about them, who nurtured them, who gave them a kick in the backside when they needed it. They will remember him as their coach, not a fragile old man apologizing on his front steps. While it may be naive, I would have to side with them. This is a horrible situation but it doesn't change the fact that he had a positive influence thousands of young men who undoubtedly feel indebted to him as I do with my old coaches. So sure, the rioting may be a bit over the top but when have college students ever acted completely rational? I know the wounds are still to raw too even begin thinking about the future but I hope one day his players stand up and speak to the character of a man they trusted and would trust again. Not because he was right but because while this man deserves to be dragged through the mud he also deserves a helping hand back up. We all have made a mistake, but after running sprints for an hour, who was there to forgive us and tell us to try again? Coach.