An E60 and ESPN documentary centered around the legacy of legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal is set to premiere April 18, and the first trailer for the series has arrived.
The documentary will be about Paterno’s life both in and away from coaching. Before November 2011, Paterno’s legacy seemed to be iron clad as one of, if not the greatest coach in college football history.
In what seemed like an instant, Penn State football icon Joe Paterno went from revered patriarch to reviled pariah. Now, ten years after the Penn State sex abuse scandal, E60 looks at The Paterno Legacy. pic.twitter.com/VleWpbtoje
— E60 (@E60) April 3, 2022
While his legacy as a coach— a DI-record 409 wins, two national championships and five undefeated seasons over nearly 46 years as head coach and 62 overall— is pretty clear, his overall legacy became much more complex for many as a result of one of his longtime former assistants, Sandusky’s child sex abuse conviction and whether or not Paterno did enough to stop Sandusky. Sandusky’s voice appears in the trailer.
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Regardless of how the upcoming documentary is perceived, Joe Paterno’s legacy will always be a polarizing topic, perhaps more so than any legendary coach in any sport.
