Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno succumbed to lung cancer Sunday at age 85, his death coming a mere 74 days after he was forced to resign from a job he'd held for 46 years. Despite being praised as a "marvel and a legend," described as "a man with a philanthropic heart," and setting the record for most wins by a Division I college football coach (409), he may be remembered most for his failure to vigorously investigate allegations that his former assistant had molested young boys. Will the controversy overshadow Paterno's unparalleled coaching career?
His reputation is forever damaged: The sad truth is that Joe Paterno's name will forever be "tarnished — perhaps irredeemably" — by "one of the ugliest, most sordid scandals the U.S. sporting world has ever witnessed," says Palash R. Ghoush at the International Business Times. Though Paterno may still go down as one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football, the distinction will always be followed by an asterisk. "The stench of the ongoing child-sex horror will accompany his name for eternity."
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