Ed Puskas: Penn State still has a big blind spot

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, because — at least from here — it seems you probably have.

Penn State is about to officially honor the late Joe Paterno and some people are not happy about it.

Others — assorted fans, apologists and former Penn State football players among them — don’t care. They just want to rewrite a history that seems to become even more sordid as time passes.

The former Nittany Lions coach’s storied career crashed in flames in 2011 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation case.

Penn State fired the man who built its football program. Paterno put Penn State on the map with his coaching longevity and philanthropy. His Nittany Lions did things the right way.

NCAA violations were unheard of in Happy Valley.

Players came to State College, bought into Penn State way and those plain uniforms minus their names and stayed until they graduated. And graduate, they did.

Penn State won football games, too. Paterno’s Nittany Lions were 409-136-3 in his 46 seasons. They won national titles in 1982 and 1986 as Sandusky helped turn Penn State into Linebacker U.

But you know all this. You’ve heard it before. I’ve written much of it in other columns. I feel like I’ve written the same kind of column every year or so since that gray, rainy day when Paterno went from hero to pariah in what seemed like a heartbeat.

He was vilified for — at best — inaction when it came to the predator in his employ. At worst, critics called him an enabler and a man who conspired with other Penn State officials to hide the monster in their midst.

Paterno, once considered the most powerful man in Pennsylvania, was notified of his firing by shaken, scrambling university trustees in a telephone call.

And then, within weeks, Paterno was gone.

You know the rest.

The NCAA slapped Penn State football with a bowl ban, demanded millions on penalties and rewrote the record book to take away 112 of Paterno’s wins. A statue of the coach was removed.

All the while, Paterno apologists — a small but extremely vocal minority — insisted their hero had done nothing wrong. They said he’d actually done all that was required by law when it came to his knowledge of accusations against Sandusky.

Paterno’s backers, including his widow and sons, got those 112 wins restored, but they want more. They want the statue back where it once stood and they want his reputation restored.

And they want those who believe Paterno knew more than he admitted — and should have done more to stop Sandusky — to stop saying so.

In a way, you have to admire their resolve. They will not be stopped.

But neither should those who speak for the real victims.

Penn State should not honor the 50th anniversary of Paterno’s first game Saturday when it hosts Temple. It isn’t right.

Most people agree on that. But Penn State and a small, but powerful pressure group don’t care what anyone else thinks.

Some things, you see, never change.

Write Vindicator Sports Editor Ed Puskas at epuskas@vindy.com and follow him on Twitter, @Ed Puskas_Vindy.