To put it in perspective, 14 years ago, Newt Gingrich was Speaker Of The House.

I’ve seen a lot of people making the argument that Joe Paterno’s legacy shouldn’t be tied to the sex scandal that engulfed the last 12 weeks of his life, abruptly ending his career in disgrace. The man coached a college football team for almost half a century and he did it well. He won a lot of games, and on the surface, it appeared he did it the right way. Most of his players graduated, and they tended to stay out of trouble with the law. He was seen as a force of good in the lives of young people. Does it mean we give him a pass for turning a blind eye to Jerry Sandusky? I don’t think so. For all the good he’s done for Franco Harris and Lavar Arrington, what about the people whose names we don’t know? What about the alleged victims of his subordinate? Joe Paterno put the reputation and stability of a football team ahead of the well-being and safety of especially vulnerable children. It’s not an argument of 12 weeks negating 45 years; Paterno knew about the allegations for 14 years. That’s a long time, long enough that he could have and should have done something.  But he didn’t.