After writing last night that legendary Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno needed to be fired immediately, the university's Board of Trustees did just that. It was the only sensible thing they could do. With the sexual abuse scandal engulfing the school, Paterno's meager actions in 2002 spelled the need for his termination.
As I related in the previous post on this issue, I understand what Paterno is going through right now. When I was terminated by the State of Arkansas Department of Human Services, it left me totally numb. It meant that I would never be a social worker again -- a job I loved. It meant that I was a pariah in my community. It meant that I had lost the respect of many of my friends and colleagues.
In many ways, I never recovered. My employment record since 1990 was spotty, at best. When I interviewed for new jobs, I always had to try to explain why I had been fired and, in all honesty, I didn't do a very good job of explaining it. How do you explain to someone that you are guilty of a moral failure?
But it appears there is one chief difference between Paterno's situation and mine. While he has said he wish he had done more in 2002, his words aren't that believable. A recent news report quotes his son as saying that Joe never once confronted his longtime assistant and friend about the incident. He continued to have a relationship with the man and quickly put the issue behind him. What we can take from this is that Joe Paterno doesn't think he did anything wrong!
I know that I didn't do enough. I know that my lapse in judgment cost a little boy his life and destroyed a family. I have had to live with the guilt for more than 20 years and I know it will never go away.
As I related in the previous post on this issue, I understand what Paterno is going through right now. When I was terminated by the State of Arkansas Department of Human Services, it left me totally numb. It meant that I would never be a social worker again -- a job I loved. It meant that I was a pariah in my community. It meant that I had lost the respect of many of my friends and colleagues.
In many ways, I never recovered. My employment record since 1990 was spotty, at best. When I interviewed for new jobs, I always had to try to explain why I had been fired and, in all honesty, I didn't do a very good job of explaining it. How do you explain to someone that you are guilty of a moral failure?
But it appears there is one chief difference between Paterno's situation and mine. While he has said he wish he had done more in 2002, his words aren't that believable. A recent news report quotes his son as saying that Joe never once confronted his longtime assistant and friend about the incident. He continued to have a relationship with the man and quickly put the issue behind him. What we can take from this is that Joe Paterno doesn't think he did anything wrong!
I know that I didn't do enough. I know that my lapse in judgment cost a little boy his life and destroyed a family. I have had to live with the guilt for more than 20 years and I know it will never go away.
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