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DeAndre Levy says his 'proudest college moment' is breaking Joe Paterno's leg
DeAndre Levy had a pretty good career at Wisconsin.
During his time in Madison, the Badgers twice won more than 10 games, won two bowl games and Levy was twice named an All-Big Ten selection. But none of those accomplishments register has the Detroit Lions linebacker’s “proudest college moment.”
Instead, it’s when he collided with longtime Penn State head coach Joe Paterno on the sideline in 2006, leading to a broken leg for the then-79-year-old coach.
The once-rosy reputation of Paterno has gone out the door amid the fallout of former PSU defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s conviction for child sexual abuse.
Sandusky coached under Paterno from 1969 to 1999. Paterno, who died in January 2012, has been criticized for not doing enough in reaction to accusations against Sandusky, who was found guilty on 45 counts in June 2012. Paterno was fired in Nov. 2011 a few days after Sandusky’s arrest.
In an interview with Men’s Journal, Levy called Paterno a “dirtbag.”
“We’ve gotta stop prioritizing sports over humanity,” Levy said. “Just because somebody can throw a football or coach football, they’re excluded from their wicked acts.”
Lions head coach Jim Caldwell coached under Paterno from 1986 to 1992 and has often spoken highly of Paterno. He told ESPN.com his players are free to express their opinions.
“Really, I think I’ve gone on record many times about how I feel about Joe,” Caldwell said. “And in regard to our players making their statement about how they feel, I’d be hypocritical to tell you anything other than the fact that they can express their opinion. We don’t all necessarily agree with it.”
In grand jury testimony from winter 2011, Paterno testified that former PSU assistant Mike McQueary told him he had seen Sandusky “fondling a young boy” in the showers and that it was “of a sexual nature.” Paterno, who said McQueary did not get into specifics, then notified then-athletic director Tim Curley about what McQueary told him. Paterno has been criticized for not doing more.
In the Freeh Report, a Penn State-sanctioned investigation into the Sandusky situation released in July 2012, it is alleged that Paterno, along with former school president Graham Spaniel, Curley and former senior vice president for business and finance Gary Schultz were aware of complaints against Sandusky. In one instance, the Freeh Report accuses Spanier, Curley and Schultz of choosing not to report the allegation against Sandusky which was relayed from McQueary to Paterno.
The Paterno family has long argued that Joe didn’t have knowledge of Sandusky’s misdeeds.
Paterno finished his career with a 409-136-3 record at Penn State, the most wins in FBS history. As a part of the NCAA sanctions against Penn State during the fallout of the Sandusky scandal, 111 of Paterno’s wins were removed from the record. The wins were subsequently restored in January 2015.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
