The Shame of Joe Paterno

There is no excuse.  That the family is trying to spin the Freeh report to protect his "legacy" is only adding to the shame he deserves.  Joe Paterno may have served his fellow man for decades, and he did, but what will he be remembered for?  Looking the other way to protect his buddy and his football program as children were raped by the man whose office was next door.  The legal ramifications for Penn State will be huge, and they should be, but the moral ramifications are beyond the pale.  Each of those students who gathered to protest the firing of Joe must now look themselves in the mirror and realize that they were helping to protect a man who made an inexcusable evil choice. 
Those of us who serve the public as our life's calling know that everything we have worked for could be ruined by a false accusation.  It makes us tentative, causes us to have rules about ministering alone with anyone, and plays to our fears.  It cannot be helped.  The innocent deserve our discomfort.
If any of these 4 leaders at Penn State (plus who knows how many more further down the ladder) had any sense of courage or honor, they would have gone to the police regardless of the consequences.  It is not a choice, it is an obligation.  Everything else that may be offered in their defense is meaningless.  They knew enough, they knew children were at risk, and they walked away.  Only one person needed to do the right thing to put a stop to Sandusky's predatory rapes of children; at Penn State, to their shame, there was none.
There is no excuse, only shame.