Review: In new ESPN documentary, Joe Paterno legacy revisited

More than a decade after Joe Paterno’s final months as Penn State’s head coach and death, ESPN is revisiting its circumstances.

Set to broadcast a new E60 documentary, The Paterno Legacy, on Monday, April 18, at 8 p.m., that visit isn’t investigatory, though. With every stone turned over through the Jerry Sandusky scandal and its fallout, a more relevant question is being asked.d

What is Joe Paterno’s legacy now? How has it changed in the years since his death? Or, maybe more broadly, does time truly heal all wounds? 

Over the nearly 50-minute documentary, the answer is: somewhat.

More than a decade removed from the shocking scandal of a convicted sex offender, complications remain. Giving voice to many of the scandal’s stakeholders, scars are still visible. And, of Paterno, conflicting emotions persist.

But the documentary demonstrates that, while complicated by its devastating conclusion, Paterno’s legacy is not bound by it alone.

“There’s no disputing that Joe Paterno was one of the most successful college coaches of all time,” says Bob Costas. “Paterno’s legacy should include this very tragic last chapter, but that that should not ultimately define him.”

Reflecting on the past

Through the course of The Paterno Legacy, it doesn’t. 

The documentary spends the majority of its time looking back with the help of many of the scandal’s primary players. Then-Penn State president Graham Spanier and vice president Gary Schultz offer their perspectives, having faced criminal charges themselves. Schultz said his biggest regret was not turning over Mike McQueary’s accusation to the Department of Welfare to investigate. Spanier maintains that had they “known it was more,” they would have notified authorities to intervene.

Focusing on Paterno’s involvement, the documentary doesn’t relitigate but instead acknowledges the sequence of the expanding scope of the scandal. Tracing the genesis to Sandusky’s arrest, Spanier said the scandal quickly grew to include the university and, ultimately, Paterno due to the two coaches’ career proximity.

By then a “media frenzy,” Paterno’s eventual firing is framed as a four-day tailspin that complicated his legacy and divided the Penn State community for the next decade. But, the following segment delivers a 12-minute rebuke to that notion.

Gauging varied perspectives against Paterno’s successful rise, a measure of his entire career is made. And, upon his sudden death at 85-years old, the dignified sorrow of an entire community is also given its due.

The ‘reckoning’

Taking stock of the reckoning that would come soon after, first with Sandusky’s June 2012 felony conviction on 45-counts relating to child sexual abuse, then with the release of the Penn State-commissioned Louis Freeh report the next month, a battle of opinion-shaping ensues.

Between Freeh’s assertions of abhorrent disregard for the welfare of children and Jay Paterno’s counterclaims of following proper protocols, Bob Costas gives voice to a broad concern that remains to this day.

“The facts (as presented by Freeh) are that Paterno and others knew all about this. Or, at least they knew the essential aspects of it, and they conspired to conceal it because the reputation and good standing of Penn State football was more important to them than the alleged heinous crimes and the victims of those crimes,” Costas says. “That leap is objectionable to a lot of people.” 

The Paterno Legacy’s final segment demonstrates as much.

Surveying an array of current Penn State students, State College residents, former players, and Sandusky himself in a phone interview as he remains imprisoned, the documentary asks what to make of Paterno’s legacy today. 

Still claiming innocence, Sandusky insists the perception of Paterno is tied to his acquittal. “The best thing I can do for Joe Paterno’s legacy is to demonstrate how he should’ve been exonerated,” Sandusky says. “And the only way he can get exonerated is if I’m exonerated.”

Joe Paterno’s living legacy

Nearly the entirety of the rest of the documentary stands as a direct rebuttal to that argument. 

With Jay Paterno citing family and former players as living legacies, Matt Millen pointing to Paterno’s influence on his life, and Costas extolling Paterno’s many admirable qualities, advocates are plentiful throughout. Even in counterarguments made, vehement condemnation never materializes. 

Instead, the sentiment central to the documentary is exemplified through a downtown tile mosaic. Dedicated to Paterno without fanfare, the comments from building’s developer represent the gradual softening of perspectives already taken.

“We didn’t really tell anybody,” said Gary Brandeis. “We didn’t put up a plaque and we weren’t certainly weren’t hiding it. But, we also weren’t seeking any sort of recognition for it. It was a subtle tribute, a subtle reminder of the success the team had, the coach had, and what it meant to the community. And that was really why we did it. Maybe someday, as time goes on and that relationship settles itself, maybe we will put up a little plaque.” 

Already well into that process working past the events that shattered the Penn State community, The Paterno Legacy stands as a largely fair reflection on the healing that has transpired since.