Pile-On

Columnists Take Aim at Penn State Coach Joe Paterno

Over sexual-abuse cover-up.

Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno is taking fire from all corners of the punditocracy as allegations surface that he may have concealed evidence that a former defensive coordinator was molesting underage boys. At Slate, Penn State alum Torie Bosch writes that she “fell hard for the myth of the team’s virtue, and for the coach who bucked the corrupt culture in big-time college sports.” Now she’s disillusioned and outraged. Meanwhile, The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson says Paterno failed to do “what basic human decency requires” when accusations were first brought to him. And a front-page editorial in the hometown newspaper, the Patriot-News, calls for Paterno’s ouster at season’s end: “A man who has spoken with such affection for 45 years about ‘the kids’ failed real kids when they needed him most."