Chip Minemyer: Franco's loyalty to Paterno unwavering

Dec. 22—Franco Harris spent the last days of his life celebrating the "The Immaculate Reception," the play from 50 years ago this weekend that made him a Pittsburgh Steelers legend.

But he spent the last 11-plus years of his life standing up for his former college coach, Joe Paterno, who was fired when longtime Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky was arrested for child sexual abuse in November 2011, and then who was named prominently in the Louis Freeh Report, which blamed Paterno and other leaders at Penn State for a culture that allowed for Sandusky's crimes.

A Pro Football Hall of Famer, Harris died Tuesday night at age 72 — passing away on the eve of Paterno's 96th birthday.

Harris starred on Penn State teams that went 29-4 from 1969-71, rushing for 2,002 yards and 24 touchdowns. The Steelers selected Harris in the first round of the 1972 draft.

After he left the field for the last time in 1984, Harris generally stayed out of the spotlight, appearing for Steelers or Nittany Lions functions, doing some corporate promotions or helping raise money for Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

But in the wake of the Sandusky indictment and Paterno's firing in 2011 and passing in January 2012, Harris became the face of the movement to rebuild Paterno's legacy.

He visited his former coach at home in the weeks before Paterno's passing.

And in late summer 2012, after the release of the scathing Freeh report and the NCAA's severe sanctions against Penn State, Harris took the lead in a mission to rebuild the football program's reputation — and Paterno's.

The NCAA sanctions included the vacating of 111 of Paterno's coaching victories — along with a postseason ban and $60 million fine.

Franco's loyalty to Paterno and his family never wavered — despite the sometimes controversial nature of the stance and the impact he experienced personally.

Before the Sandusky scandal, Harris was a spokesman for Meadows Racetrack and Casino. But Meadows ended the relationship after Harris was critical of the Penn State trustees for their handling of his former coach.

Harris stepped down from a leadership post with the Pittsburgh Promise charity organization in late 2011 in a feud with Pittsburgh's mayor over the Paterno firing, but was reinstated as chairman by the group's board of directors.

"This happened to someone very dear to me," Harris said in August 2012. "But I really believe everyone deserves due process and this hurt the university."

The pro-Paterno movement made the phrase "rush to judgment" a common rallying cry, claiming reports connecting Sandusky's crimes to the coach and the school unfairly "tarnished" both Penn State and Paterno.

I was working as the executive editor of the Centre Daily Times in State College during the height of the Sandusky ordeal — the removal of the Paterno statue at Beaver Stadium, the Freeh report, the NCAA sanctions.

Harris and I found ourselves at times on different sides of the dialogue.

I believed then, and still do, that efforts to rebuild Paterno's legacy took the focus off of what really mattered — the sexual abuse of children on and around the Penn State campus.

Harris never stated that he believed Jerry Sandusky to be innocent, but he worked tirelessly to separate Paterno from the abuse allegations.

He spoke on the steps of Old Main on campus, he met with numerous reporters and he took his fight to the university, rallying support from former players and other alumni.

One such moment came when another ex-Nittany Lion standout, Dr. Paul Suhey, ran for reelection to the board of trustees.

In April 2013, Harris added his name to a petition from former players opposing Suhey over his role as a trustee when Paterno was removed as coach. Other Lion alums joining Harris in that movement included Todd Blackledge, Robert Capretto, Brian Masella, Tom Donchez, Justin Ingram, Christian Marrone, Lydell Mitchell, Michael Robinson, Johnstown native Steve Smear and current trustee Brandon Short.

Later that spring, Harris organized a panel discussion — "Upon Further Review: One Year Later" — designed to "debunk misconceptions surrounding the Sandusky scandal."

The pro-Paterno group Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship (PS4RS) helped organize the event, with Harris serving as moderator.

The panel was largely in Paterno's corner — including trustee and athletics donor Anthony Lubrano; blogger Ray Blehar; Rob Tribeck, a Harrisburg attorney and the legal counsel of PS4RS; and outspoken trustees and Freeh critic Eileen Morgan.

And also a local editor, whose news team had relentlessly covered the Sandusky trial and the fallout across the summer of 2012, and who had written several editorials urging Penn State to move forward with institutional changes reflecting a need to fix ineffective policies and procedures concerning the safety of children, Title IX reporting and oversight of athletics.

Franco invited me to that event, warned me that it might get a little rough, and then treated me with respect despite our differences.

I already had a positive opinion of him as a sports figure because of his accomplishments, and as a community leader for his charity work.

In front of an audience largely turned off by my presence, Harris insisted attendees give me an opportunity to share my views and concerns; and handled the gathering with fairness, despite his personal agenda and the nature of the subject matter.

I wasn't there to change anyone's minds — including Franco's — and they weren't going to reverse my thinking.

And from there, Harris and his team built a coalition that eventually included lawmakers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere and which gained momentum that helped convince the NCAA to reduce the sanctions early and restore Paterno to 409 wins.

Harris was part of four Super Bowl championships with the Steelers in the years after his "Immaculate Reception."

But I suspect he regarded the restoration of Paterno's record, and perhaps his coach's reputation, as among his most important victories.