The Joe Paterno Lesson: One Bad Decision Can Ruin a Lifetime of Good Work

Young Athletes Can Take Instruction from Penn State Debacle

Hidden in the ruckus of the Penn State scandal is the effect one bad decision has had on a lifetime of good work by Nittany Lion head football coach Joe Paterno and how it sends a clear and vital message.  It’s a lesson which should not go unnoticed by high school athletes. 

Prior to the revelations regarding Paterno’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky calamity, JoPa was universally revered for having run a squeaky clean football program and for his seemingly unending support of the university and his former players, not to mention the State College community and Pennsylvania as a whole.  All that, however, is a distant memory because of one bad decision on his part.  His alleged inactions pertaining to Sandusky has cast a shadow so dark and long over Paterno that it clouds nearly all the good previously attached to him and his name, particularly in the court of public opinion.  Perhaps never in the annals of American sports has one so high fallen so far and so fast as Joe Paterno.

Young athletes should give this matter their attention.  They should understand that every decision has a consequence and every action has a rebound effect on their lives.  And, it is an example of how even the best of us can be blinded by loyalty to an entity as opposed to one’s ideals and integrity.    

Good decisions, not good intentions, are the foundation of good character.  Joe Paterno may have indeed had good intentions in his heart about the way he handled the Sandusky issue, but he allowed his concern for the institution to override his obligation to a young child in need of his intervention.  Coach Paterno made a specific decision not to champion the more important of two options he faced.  His misplaced loyalty and, in this case, twisted sense of duty to his employer, led him down a path to his own demise.      

This is a microcosm of life for today’s student-athletes.  One moment of indecision or compromise can emote such dire outcomes as to dismantle a life well-lived.  Yes, there are times to be loyal and there are times when it is righteous to come to the aid of one’s business, colleagues, teammates or boss, but right is right and wrong is wrong.  When situations arise which require right and wrong answers, one’s integrity cannot be shoved behind the veil of protocol.