ATLANTA, Georgia—On Sunday morning, after much deliberation, Penn State University removed the statue of Joe Paterno. On Monday the NCAA announced major penalties against the university—penalties which involve fines, loss of scholarships and bowl appearances. Whether or not either decision was proper will remain a subject of controversy.
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| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Photo as Paterno statue goes down |
Whenever questions arise such as those related to the Jerry Sandusky/Joe Paterno tragedy, it’s always a good idea to listen someone with an insight into the psyche of big-time college sports and someone who knew the individual involved.
To me that man
is Bobby Bowden. I had a chance to chat with Bobby earlier this year on a
flight to New York, had interviewed him numerous times in the past and always
found him to be knowledgeable, articulate and a straight shooter. He was consistently
cordial to the media and appreciative of what we did. In addition if there is
anyone who could relate to Paterno’s position as an iconic figure and the
face of a major state university, it would be Bowden, who roamed the sidelines
at Florida State for 44 years and is now the winningest coach (377 wins to
Paterno’s 297) of all time. Paterno lost 112 victories dating back to 1998 as part of the NCAA sanctions.
With all this in
mind, it was interesting to hear Bowden’s comments on the Penn State mess made during
an interview with Cory Giger on 1450 ESPN Radio in State College Pennsylvania and later relayed
in a story in USA Today. They came
before the recent news regarding the statue and the sanctions, but he did
address the former and we can pretty well guess how he felt about the latter.
Bowden began by
saying, “It's really sad, and now the facts are out, there's no more dodging
the issue.“ He said that “I hate that it came out like it did. It's sad
because it could have been stopped. It never should have happened after the
first incident.
"We were
pretty close as coaches and everyone has such great respect for Joe,"
Bowden added. "Still, you must look at it as a man who made a mistake --not
a little-itty mistake, but a very serious mistake.
"To cover
it up, that's a tough one," said Bowden.
Regarding the
statue, Bowden noted, "When it comes to fields, statues, and names on
trophies, everytime somebody looks at them, it might bring up a bad
picture."
It’s obvious
that Bobby thought the statue should go and even though he didn’t express an opinion
on sanctions, it would be surprising if he does not feel they are too strong,
especially as they relate to the athletes, No one was ever more supportive of
his players than Bobby Bowden and to see the NCAA penalize a group of players
and coaches and fans who had nothing to do with the crime is grossly unfair. I
can live with fining the university for the administration’s failings, I can’t see
penalizing current players, which the loss of scholarships and the bowl game prohibition will do. I suspect Bobby might feel the same.
Quick takes…congrats to director Bob Bryant and all involved in the
BB&T Atlanta Open. The move to Atlanta Station was a huge success despite
some rain delays. Sunday’s finale with Andy Roddick coming off a slow start to
win the title was great theater. Roddick, along with 12 other BB&T
participants, is on his way to London. The Atlanta Opening will return to
Atlanta next year. If you missed it check my story in the July 1 issue of the
Atlanta Business Chronicle on how Mayor Reed helped move the event to the
city…So many developments with the Braves. The most painful of which was
watching Jair Jurjjens disintegrate again today. He just has not regained his
form, nor his confidence after being injured last year…The Braves also let a
golden opportunity slip away. After an epic win on Friday, coming from a 9-0 deficit,
they won again Saturday and had the Nats on the ropes until losing the final
two. The schedule is easier now in the next two weeks—with home and away series
against Miami and two other sets at home against Philly and Houston.
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