As I mentioned in my last post but didn't expand on, Joe Paterno made a bizarre appearance Wednesday night a few hours after he was fired. ESPN was fortunate enough to have a camera crew stationed outside Paterno's house, which appeared to have become a rallying point for the rioters. JoePa came out for about a minute, gave an unscripted statement to the students, and then headed back inside.
This post isn't really about media coverage. It's aimed at Paterno's utter cluelessness about how to handle the situation.
JoePa heads down to give a statement
A few minutes past midnight, after students had been rioting for about and hour-and-a-half following the announcement of his firing, Paterno came out of his house. A large group of students and supporters had shown up on his lawn, as they had done for the past few days when it became apparent Paterno's job was in danger. Paterno, without a prepared statement in hand, came up to a handful of reporters.
"I want to say hello to all these great students, who I love." "You guys are great."
Those were some of the first words out of his mouth after stepping in front of the microphones. He embraced them. No critical words, no reprimand for destroying street lamps and turning over news vans. Instead, Paterno comes out with smiles and waves, completely embracing the crowd. Maybe he didn't know the extent of what was going on. But he knew exactly why he was let go, and what crimes he likely covered up.
"Hey look, get a good night's sleep and study, alright?"
This is the last thing Paterno says before initially heading back towards his house. That's all he says to try and quell the situation. That's not much of a genuine plea. He's still smiling and feeding off the crowd, if you can believe it.
JoePa turns to head back in
As he's walking back towards his front door, Paterno turned around when someone shouted "I love you." This earned a thumbs up from Paterno. Then suddenly Paterno turns around and heads back towards the group of reporters he just spoke to.
"One thing: Pray a little bit for those victims."
He said it as if it were an afterthought, like something he had forgotten to say the first time he was in front of the cameras. How does that slip your mind? How is your first concern to go out there and positively greet the swarming crowd instead of asking for people to show some respect? How do you possibly put yourself first?
JoePa heads back in for the final time
Paterno headed back into in home for the last time, but stopped to pump his fist in support of the crowds that are cheering and chanting his name. Showing solidarity with the very people you were (quite poorly) trying to calm down is a little bit antithetical. And yet that exactly what Paterno did during the minute or so that this whole bizarre encounter took place.
We don't know the extent of what Paterno's guilty of, but it's clear he has little perspective about this whole situation. This is not about Paterno's firing, nor what the future of the football program is. This is about everyone who was hurt by the actions and inactions taken by members of Penn State. Any chance Paterno had to redeem himself is now effectively gone. If he had pointed that out, maybe he healing process could have begun for Penn State. Instead Paterno rubbed salt in the wound, one that won't heal anytime soon.
Until next time, Orange Hat Guy
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