I've heard conflicting reports on whether he is really gone or not. If it is true, too bad in the last bunch of years, his allegiance was more for a game and ball jockies than on the welfare of little boys. Also if he is gone, I cannot say RIP. JMO. you are entitled to yours.

Paterno passed away at 9:25 a.m. ET Sunday, and the official cause of death was metastic small cell carcinoma of the lung.

I have never been a Joe-Pa fan (a bone of contention between my step brother who played for him, and I) but I am sorry that his family is suffering such a loss. They appear to be a very close family and he seemed to be so devoted to his wife. I'm just sorry that he passed at such a low point in his (much too long) career.

I was hoping he'd live a lot longer with his conscience...if he had one.
No RIP here either.

Yes, I just heard it MSNBC. I am sorry for his family, may they find the strength. Thats all I;m going to say on his passing.

All my life Joe Pa was a household name here. He was there when husband went to Penn State, both my kids went to Penn State and knew him, my SIL went there and his parents live in State college, and SIL taught McQuerry to swim when he was a life guard. SIL knew Paterno's kids well. This state is grieving. I am not a football fan but admired his contributions to the university, and his dedication to his football players. Unfortunately his illustrious career will be forever tarnished with his inability to protect little boys who were being raped. He thought he did what was required which he did, but he needed to do WAY more.

He may have been a bad person, but he was still a person, and his family is grieving, so I say forget what he did, he's gone on to final judgement.

RIP JoePa. I think he lived an exemplary life and did soooo much good for PSU and his players. He made an egregious error in judgement at the end of his life. I'm so sorry that his final days were lived in (for the lack of a better word) disgrace. My condolences to his wife and children and for the millions who still hold him in high esteem, I'm one of them.

RIP, JoePa. I was thinking about this situation and I think that in the end he may have saved a lot of kids from abuse. Had it not been for his masterful coaching skills and the way he cared about his players, this entire Sandusky mess would not have received the national (perhaps international) attention that it did. It made thousands of people aware that this sort of thing is going on more than we realized, and it's not just the creepy guy hanging on the corner. I think more kids will be safe now. I do agree that Joe should have sounded the alarm when he first got wind of what was going on. He had the ear of the entire university and beyond, so had he spoken up, they would have listened and acted. I think that generation had a harder time dealing with such things.

I'm sorry that Joe's name seems to be more closely related to Sandusky's crimes than Sandusky's is (may he burn in hell).

I am sorry too that Paterno's name is mentioned more than the pervert Sandusky's. This despicable piece of human garbage brought a whole prestigious university to it's knees and gave Paterno's last days on earth a taint . Paterno himself was an honorable man. In his naivety, he didn't realize that such filth as Sandusky, a person he knew well, was capable of this kind of depravity. Good thoughts to Paterno's grieving family.

I agree with Lily, such a shame that his name will be remembered in this terrible way.....I honestly think, he didn't realize or really understood, what was happening, he lived PENN STATE football and should be remembered for all the good he had done......My thoughts and prayers are with his family.....

dedtired, no offense intended, just trying to understand. Are you saying that he saved more children from abuse by NOT reporting it several years ago? That, because he didn't report it, and because he was such a good coach, that the team rose to such a public level because of him and so therefore people are paying more attention?

That's hard for me to get my head around - that because he didn't report it when the team wasn't as famous, more children won't be abused now because the team IS famous. I'm sure the children that were abused by Sandusky in the meantime, that would've been saved if Paterno (and others) had done the right thing then, don't agree.

Please let me know if I've misunderstood.

For me, I am sorry for him that his life ended with the disgrace it did, but that's his doing. I also am not sure that he knew what a bad thing he was doing by not going higher with it, but he should've. The welfare of little boys should've trumped everything.

No, Suzie, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that because he was such a high profile person, this case got more publicity than it might have otherwise. IN that way, by shining a spotlight on the crime, more people are aware that this reprehensible act goes on and in the future other young children may be spared.

I totally agree that he should have spoken up loud and clear the moment there was a whisper of suspicion and I am sorry that he did not.

It is very hard to judge a person on what they should have done unless we walk in their shoes. I think he tried to do the best he could for the students he had, and the era of when he was raised, and the times--he made decisions that he felt were right. Sometimes a person does not speak out because they just are overwhelmed with life--illness, retirement and age. We all make mistakes, but try to do our best when we are dealing with others.

I think Joe Paterno did the bare minimum in reporting. Did he know what was going on, or was he naive? None of us will really ever know. But I think along with his cancer, he died of a broken heart, either for his beloved school and career now tarnished, or for the fact he should have done more to stop Sandusky.

I tend to think he didn't really know the full extent of what was going on.. and he did that deliberately. He chose to make sure he did NOT find out what was going on. He wanted to be "in the dark", and he was wrong to make the decision to "stay out of it". He had a moral responsibility to do more.

Having said that.. I'm still sorry he suffered for his mistake, and I believed him when he said he wished he had done things differently. I'm also sorry for his family.

Thanks for clarifying, dedtired.

I wouldn't want to romanticize what Joe Paterno died from, but I certainly wouldn't call it a broken heart. A shamed heart, maybe, but only because of the horrors that came to light in the wake of the Sandusky scandal. This is an interesting article regarding whether or not Joe Paterno really did take ownership of his part in allowing the continued abuse of innocent children for an additional 10 years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Really, Joe?

Well, I'm glad I read that article.

Everyone has a right to their opinion on Joe Paterno & it does not matter weather you liked him or not. The man is now dead so may he rest in peace. I know what his family must be going through & I feel sorry for them.

Thanks for asking, Suzie. Guess I wasn't entirely clear the first time.