The past year was memorable for many reasons, not the least being the fall from grace of formerly deemed estimable gentlemen, whose admittedly admirable activities were cited as an excuse to mitigate their offenses.
Recent examples: There is no question but that efforts have been made to excuse the legendary Penn State football coach, Joe Paterno (reviled for his dilatory, if not obfuscating, handling of information concerning the alleged predatory activities of his long time assistant coach, serial child molester, Jerry Sandusky), because Paterno ran a relatively clean football program for many years (especially compared to others), and particularly because of his mega contributions to the reputation and solvency of Penn State University, which named its library in his honor. If he had not died, he might well have been prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Newspaper articles defending him were titled "Joe Paterno Was Made A Scapegoat," "We Won't Forget Paterno," etc. His family has contested the charges against him as the result of "raw speculation and unsupported opinion."
