A small break from the norm

This is primarily a political blog about national and state political issues. Given the firestorm surrounding Penn State University and its legendary football coach, Joe Paterno, in recent days, however, I felt compelled to comment.
For those who have been living under a rock, or who don't watch TV, a quick recap: Joe Paterno has spent 62 years coaching at Penn State. He recently set the record for most wins by a major Division I coach with 409, breaking the record formerly held by the late, great Eddie Robinson. In 2002, he was alerted that his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky was being investigated after he was caught showering with a young boy, and, alledgedly, molesting him. While Paterno reported the incident to his superiors, he failed to contact the police. Now, Sandusky stands accused of more than 40 felony counts with eight boys over the years. Paterno was unceremoniously fired over the phone last week. The question is, should he have been?
This is not as easy a question as it appears on first glance. Paterno, by all accounts ran an exceedingly clean program. He donated a good deal of his own money to the school. Penn State's library is even named after him. He is beloved by many on campus and in his community.
On one hand, one could argue that Paterno should be allowed to go out on his own terms. He had already agreed to retire at season's end before he was fired. After everything he's done for his school, shouldn't he be allowed to go out on his own terms, with a shred of dignity?
Normally, I would say, "of course." At 84, having won more games than anyone else in history, he should be allowed to dictate his own exit. But the thing that bothers me most about this situation, that ultimately changes my mind, is that Paterno did nothing more than the bare minimum when he found out about the abuse a decade ago. Paterno should have done more than just report the incident to his superiors. He should have called the police. He should have used his considerable influence to put a stop to the abuse. Instead, he reported the incident to his superiors then went on with business as usual. That is deeply disturbing.
What's equally as disturbing is the media's treatment of the story. Most outlets I've seen have treated this primarily as a sports story, with focus primarily on Paterno and the football program. That's simply wrong. The real story isn't about Paterno, or about Penn State's football program. The real story is about Sandusky's alleged victims. What has happened to them? What does the future hold for them in the wake of this traumatic abuse?
I guess the lurid headlines about Paterno and the sex scandal are what sell papers and generate ratings for the network news programs. But I think it's a sad testimony on the state of our society that the victims in this story have been so easily forgotten.