Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I am sitting here in front of my computer, looking at the headline that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has died, and I honestly don't know how or what I should feel. If he had passed a year ago, it would be a no-brainer. For a World War II soldier who dedicated more than 50 years to one institution and one wife during a time in which examples of both grow rarer by the decade, it seems flags should be flown at half staff. But then there's Jerry Sandusky. And then there's Paterno's silence and then ... well with all due respect to the Paterno family, his loved ones and the Penn State community, uninterrupted mourning becomes difficult.
@highlight
LZ Granderson says Joe Paterno was a renowned coach who gave his life to Penn State
@highlight
Ordinarily, he says, you would fly flags at half staff for such a man
@highlight
Granderson: Paterno's failure to speak out forcefully to stop child sex abuse scars his reputation
@highlight
But Granderson says many other great men have exhibited terrible flaws
Years passed and the coach didn't utter one word about what he knew about @placeholder to the media but he managed to address the media on his front porch within hours of his firing.
How many would do so if they were one of @placeholder's alleged victims.