It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years, but this June will mark the 10-year anniversary of Jerry Sandusky’s sentencing of the sexual abuse of minors that rocked the entire Penn State community. The ghosts of that dark time still rest at the discretion of the university and it appears that ESPN will drop an E:60 feature on that dark time.
ESPN reported The Paterno Legacy, an E; 60 released a trailer for its featurette that looks to break down all the different angles in assessing Joe Paterno’s legendary and doomed career as a result of the Sandusky scandal that resulted. The feature is dialing in on how the university quickly handled Paterno’s position in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal, and how Paterno’s career as head coach at Penn State was viewed.
In what seemed like a moment, Penn State football icon Joe Paterno went from revered patriarch to infamous pariah. Now, ten years after the Penn State sex abuse scandal, E60 looks at The Paterno Legacy. pic.twitter.com/VleWpbtoje
— E60 (@E60) 3 April 2022
They appear to uncover everything that made Paterno into the legend he was on campus, making the scandal public such as his early success with the school and capping his 400th victory. The man who carved Paterno’s clay figure is reminiscent of how he was known to be a father figure and mentor to the men he trained and how he became a role model for so many. The problem is that as the sculpture progresses, the story and legacy get deeper.
At one point we see current head coach James Franklin being asked about Paterno’s legacy and ignoring the question before deducting the above 400th win, where we see Paterno and then-university president Grahame. We see the Spanier celebrating all this.
E:60 does a tremendous job of telling stories and has been for years. What they do best is telling both sides and covering all angles. It has always been and will be a difficult topic for Penn State fans, students, and alumni, but if there was ever a time to look at it again, it is now.
Other notable figures we see throughout the trailer include Joe’s son Jay Paterno, who talks about his father’s transition from “patriarchy” to “alien.” We also see former players Matt McGloin and Matt Milne doing coverage of student protests on November 9 and 10 in 2011, and by the end of this we hear “You have a collect call from Jerry Sandusky.”
Needless to say, traces are being opened, details will be revisited, and the infamous series of reporting will be discussed. We’ll all be ready to see what ESPN has to offer when The Paterno Legacy airs Monday, April 18.
obey Nitney Lions Wire on Twitter And like us on Facebook For continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
Tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. join the conversation today,
