A Primer on Damage Control, With Joe Paterno As Example


Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was in the news when it was announced he had a "treatable form of cancer." Treatable is the key word here.

The news tip came from a family member, the news report stated.

Fired from Penn State in the wake of a sordid scandal involving the football program, the 84-year-old was the subject of controversy anyway due to his advancing age in holding such a high-level coaching position.

Damage control enters in here.

I say there was no chance concerning the information about his "treatable" cancer becoming public news if the scandal had not unfolded. All efforts from family to make it appear the coach was healthy and in good shape would have been made to support his staying on as head coach.

But, considering the dent made on his legacy with the firing, why not deflect and distract from that and create a little sympathy for Paterno?

Why not, indeed.

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