| | Joe Paterno needs seven victories to pass Bear Bryant as the winningest
coach in Division I-A history, with No. 324 promising him a perch on the
shoulders of his Penn State players for a ride into the warm embrace of
history. After his hiring 34 years ago, Paterno started out on a project at
Penn State he called the "The Great Experiment," trying to construct a
powerhouse program on gentlemen and scholars. This was his season to take a
bow, but the great Paterno is daring to take a dive.
|  | | Joe Paterno is seven wins away from breaking Bear Bryant's record. |
Every program has problems. Kids get into trouble. It happens everywhere,
and now, it's happened in Happy Valley, too. What separates the saints and
the sinners, the Paternos and the Switzers, is a responsible reaction to it.
After all his years of noble service, Paterno had a chance to make a stand
here, to do the right thing for his program, his legacy, his sport, and
suspend quarterback Rashard Casey.
Until the quarterback clears his name on charges of second-degree
aggravated assault on an off-day policeman in northern New Jersey this
spring, the seriousness of these charges insist he stay on the sidelines.
Under no circumstances should he compete for his university with grand jury
proceedings threatening to charge him as a felon in September.
These aren't the allegations of a fraternity row prank, a modest
indiscretion to be dismissed on the basis of his unsullied background. This
is a disturbing case, laced with accusations the alleged altercation was
precipitated when Casey and two friends took exception to the company of a
black woman with Patrick Fitzsimmons, a white man.
Casey and a friend, Desmond Miller, are accused of punching and kicking the officer, Fitzsimmons,
until he lay unconscious. Both plead not-guilty and deny the charges. The
lawyer representing Casey, Dennis McAlvey, insists his client will be
cleared.
Still, Casey's right to a presumption of innocence and a fair trial
shouldn't be confused with his right to play quarterback for Penn State.
For now, that's a privilege he's lost. Most athletic departments have
rules mandating a suspension of an athlete in a pending case of this
magnitude, but Penn State leaves the decision to the discretion of its
coaches. This is a pitiful policy. This isn't a football issue, but a
university issue. Penn State's famous football coach shouldn't hold this
power, as much as its anonymous softball coach shouldn't.
When Cincinnati's Bob Huggins had a player charged with a felony assault this
summer, the athlete was immediately suspended. Huggins had no choice. When
charges were dropped, the player was reinstated. It was kept completely out
of his hands. These department mandates are uniformed, partly, for the
Huggins of the world. It seems the Bearcats basketball coach has conducted a
"Great Experiment" of his own, almost a decade of dedicated service
overseeing a powerhouse program with a perfect graduation rate of his own:
Nobody.
|
“ |
Courageous. Isn't it wonderful? When it's Jerry Tarkanian and
Barry Switzer, it's the deed of a desperado. When it's Paterno, it's a
profile in courage. ” |
It's a sad day for college sports when Paterno needs to be overruled on the
proper course of action and have his hand held like Huggins. Instead,
Paterno has his shills roughshod for him, including one calling him
"courageous" for refusing to suspend his starting quarterback for a felony
assault charge in the brutal beating of an off-duty policeman.
Courageous. Isn't it wonderful? When it's Jerry Tarkanian and
Barry Switzer, it's the deed of a desperado. When it's Paterno, it's a
profile in courage.
Penn State lost 15 starters, the top two picks in the NFL draft and owns its
lowest preseason ranking -- No. 22 -- in the Associated Press poll in a
decade (the Nittany Lions are No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll). Beyond Casey, there isn't a quarterback on the roster ready to take
over the team.
This is courageous? Let's see Paterno gamble his program's
good name on a third-string lineman, the most important player on the field.
The double standard isn't just disturbing, it's disheartening. This isn't
just an issue of winning and losing to Paterno. To listen to him tell people,
"I'm going to play Rashard Casey until something convinces me I shouldn't,"
makes him sound like the legend coach answering to no one. It's the defiant
old act of the icon coach, insisting no one and nothing will dictate policy
within his program.
Why isn't Casey suspended? Because I say so. Next question.
When Dean Smith passed Adolph Rupp for college basketball's career victories
record a few years ago, it symbolized a victory for virtue. We don't get a
chance to celebrate those too often in big-time college sports anymore. This
should be a special season, too. Joe Paterno needs seven victories to
overtake Bear Bryant, climb on the shoulders of his players and ride into
history. For 34 seasons, he's done the right thing. This no time to taint it,
no time to make us wonder what ever happened to the noble cause of the "Great
Experiment."
Adrian Wojnarowski is a columnist for the Bergen Record and a regular
contributor to ESPN.com.
| |
ALSO SEE
Student accuses Penn State of double standard
Forde: No right way to handle indiscretion
|
