ESPN, media helped kill Joe Paterno

Now, to be totally clear, I am not going to claim that the media had anything to do with the cancer.

But when you're an older gentleman who has had physical problems the last few years; add in cancer and a seemingly overwhelming amount of negative press leads to a recipe for disaster.

And in my opinion, a lot of unnecessary negative press was aimed right at Joe Paterno.  It seemed to me that in the first few weeks after the Jerry Sandusky broke the media blamed Mr Paterno almost as much as Sandusky.

And I don't get the why?  Mr Paterno did tell his superiors what he was told. Should he have done more? Maybe. But I really believe Mr Paterno did what he thought was morally and ethically right.

So I believe that basically the media is bashing him and diminishing the good he did; not because he did the wrong thing but because he didn't do enough of the right thing. And that is wrong and I wish the media could be held accountable for those actions. But as far as I know there is no way to do that.

But now back to the real point.

In the first few weeks after the story broke is became increasing more difficult to watch the coverage as a person who was molested myself.  The media's insane "need to know" brought back old memories and I am positive I am not the only one.

Now, as a person who was born in Michigan and raised in Ohio, I had no particular liking of Mr Paterno. I never actively  disliked  but as the head coach of Penn State I didn't have a lot of warm and fuzzy feelings for him either.

But since I have been on the wrong end of being molested (come to think of it, there's no right end on that)  I can and do have sympathy for a man who I believe was essentially a good person dealing with a lot of negative thoughts and emotions for his role. And add on the other stress he was dealing with; I really feel bad for Mr Paterno.

I think that at the end of his life there was a perfect storm of bad things happening and his body and soul could take no more.

And it didn't have to be that way.

The media should have had (and continue to) have more respect for Sandusky's victims, for those who have been molested by other sick individual, the law and Mr Paterno.

In my opinion the court of law has the only real right for the need to know; not the media and not the court of public opinion.

  The media's insatiable "need to know" has become a national problem.