Another Fallen Icon

Not too many years ago, Bill Cosby was "America's Dad". We laughed with him and his TV family's antics. When Cosby's real life son was murdered, we cried with him. Joe Paterno was in a way America's coach, seemingly straight-laced and proper, abiding by the rules of football and placing a priority that "student" be kept in Penn State football's "student-athletes". As it turns out, Paterno did not prevent a cover-up of a scandal far bigger than class attendance or laundry money. He turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children. Cosby is alleged to have engaged in the serial rape of drugged women over decades. The legacy of Paterno is forever tarnished as he lies in his grave. Whether he is charged criminally or not, Cosby's career is buried. Carefully crafted images are often destroyed by acts that reveal a cultural icon is not what he seems.