Now that you've passed on, your legacy will be debated. Some will say that your gridiron merits are untouchable, that what you accomplished outweighs all. Others will always remember that you were markedly passive in the face of sexual abuse of boys. What will get lost is the man that you were. An entire football program was placed squarely on your back, and you carried it for decades, despite the landscape of college football changing greatly and frequently. You carried yourself with class, gave the program a reputation of class, molded classy football players, and gave each class at Pennsylvania State a football team to be proud of, even if there weren't so many wins to cheer about. You were a consistent and insistent man, sticking with your style of football for as long as you coached. No matter how big your legend grew, even with becoming the winningest coach in NCAA football history, you were always the same guy. That alone resonated at the highest levels of the sport, and will continue to do so. As the allegations came out last year, your reverence faced tarnishes that it had never seen, the likes of which may never be expunged. It's even more unfortunate that we won't be able to hear your full side of the story from your mouth. Whatever the case may be though, no one can take away all that you gave State College, all that you gave those young men you coached, and all that you gave to NCAA football. May your soul find the peace that it so earnestly yearned for amidst the allegations, and may your side be revealed to us, good or bad, to help that peace find you.
Sincerely,
A college football fan.
[A. Lewis]
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