A Look at Joe Paterno's Complicated Legacy

Athlon Editors look back on how to view JoePa's complicated history

With the passing of Joe Paterno over the weekend, many people are struggling to put his career in perspective. On one hand, he was a rare coach who won without ever getting caught up in a big NCAA scandal--a rarity in college football these days--but on the other, his legacy will foreever be tarnished by the horrific Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

So we asked our Athlon editors (who know more about college football than most people have forgotten) to look back on JoePa's complicated career.

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Struggling with Joe Paterno's Legacy

Athlon Editor Mitch Light looks back at Joe Paterno's career

Joe Paterno roamed the sidelines in the first college football game that I remember watching. I was seven years old, dressed in crimson pants, an Alabama t-shirt and an Alabama cowboy hat. It was the 1979 Sugar Bowl, featuring No. 1 Penn State vs. the No. 2 Crimson Tide.

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Joe Paterno's Career By The Numbers

Joe Paterno is one of college football greatest coaches and the numbers prove it.

-by Braden Gall (@BradenGall on twitter)

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Joe Paterno Dies at 85 From Lung Cancer

The Penn State coach has died of lung cancer complications

Joe Paterno, the recently embattled Penn State football coach, has died at the age of 85 from lung cancer complications.

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Mike McQueary Testifies In Jerry Sandusky Sex Abuse Case

The Penn State assistant coach tells a jury what he saw in the Penn State showers

Mike McQueary, the former Penn State quarterback and graduate student testified that he saw Jerry Sandusky "molesting a young boy" in the Penn State showers in 2002.

This is the first time that McQueary has testified publicly to what he saw since the child sexual abuse scandal broke.

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Dottie Sandusky, Wife of Jerry, Says She Believes He's Innocent

The wife of the accused Penn State Coach Jerry Sandusky says she thinks he's innocent

Dottie Sandusky, the wife of Jerry Sandusky has broken her silence for the first time since the the allegations of sexual abuse were levied against her husband. It seems the trigger for her to step forward was her implication of negligence in the most recent accusations.

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Jerry Sandusky Arrested on New Sex Abuse Charges

The former Penn State assistant coach has been arrested again.

Jerry Sandusky has been taken from his home in handcuffs again. The former Penn State Nittany Lions assistant coach was arrested today after new allegations of sexual abuse surfaced.

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Evaluating Joe Paterno in the Internet Age

The Penn State coach's legacy is hard to define in the age of Twitter

Maybe we should have taken more time to assess Joe Paterno’s legacy. But in the age of Fox News and Twitter, what we should have done does not matter.

Death compels us to reflect on life.

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Jerry Sandusky Interview Video; Says He's Innocent But Looks Like A Liar

The Penn State former assistant coach claims his innocence in a video interview with the Times

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Jerry Sandusky Has New Accuser - And the Details Are Horrific

A civil suit has been filed against Second Mile, Penn State and Jerry Sandusky

A civil suit has been filed against Penn State, Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile (Sandusky's children's charity) by an unnamed adult this week.