'My proudest moment in college': Lions player DeAndre Levy brags about breaking 'dirtbag' coach Joe Paterno's leg in 2006

  • Levy broke then-79-year-old Paterno's leg when a tackle went off the field
  • In June it emerged Paterno ignored a boy who had been sexually abused 
  • The boy had tried to get his help in 1976 after Jerry Sandusky molsted him
  • Socially conscious Levy was delighted to have inflicted karmic justice
  • Paterno died in 2012; Sandusky was convicted that year of child sex abuse 

By James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com

Published: 00:21 EST, 18 November 2016 | Updated: 01:45 EST, 18 November 2016

Proud: DeAndre Levy (pictured) is delighted to have broken the leg of then-79-year-old coach Joe Paterno in 2006 during a college football tackle gone awry

Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy, 29, has had a successful career over the past eight years, but he says none of it can compare to breaking the leg of a 79-year-old man.

That might sound crazy, but the man in question was Joe Paterno, the now-deceased former college coach who, it emerged in July, had looked the other way during a child abuse scandal.

That was 'my proudest moment in college,' Levy, a campaigner against domestic violence and for human rights, told Men's Journal. 

Levy was playing college football for Wisconsin during the fateful match in November 2006, when he tackled Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless in the fourth play of the third quarter.

The pair flow out of bounds and Levy's head collided with the leg of Penn State coach Paterno, then almost 80, fracturing his shin bone and tearing ligaments.

Video shows his leg bending backwards near the knee as he falls.

Scroll down for video 

Crash: A split second after this, Levy (right, in red) fell forward and smashed his helmet into the head of Paterno (left, wearing glasses), breaking the coach's shin bone

'Dirtbags': A victim of coach and sex abuser Jerry Sandusky (left, in 1999) said in court that Paterno (right) ignored his pleas after Sandusky molested the then-14-year-old boy in a shower

In June this year it emerged that Paterno had 'walked away' from a 14-year-old boy in 1976 after the teen told him fellow coach Jerry Sandusky had molested him in a shower.

The victim testified in court in 2012 that Paterno had said: 'I don’t want to hear about any of that kind of stuff, I have a football season to worry about.'

Broken: Paterno (pictured after his leg was broken by Levy) reportedly walked away from the boy saying 'I have a football season to worry about'

The emergence of Paterno's shocking behavior retroactively made the painful accident a triumph for Levy, who told Men's Journal Paterno was 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.'

Levy has cut a unique figure in the hyper-masculine world of the NFL.

Despite his imposing figure - he's 6-foot-2 and weight 235 pounds - and success in the aggressive sport, he's made a name for himself as an opponent of domestic abuse.

'Some of my peers needed a man in their position to challenge their ideals directly,' he said of his campaigning in that area. 'Just because you see it as a women's issue doesn't mean that we, as men, can't say something.'

He's also campaigned strongly for human rights, has stood up to homophobia in the locker room and sold his collection of 150 sneakers to give to Detroit homeless charities.

Levy - who is from Detroit - has also raised money for other charities in the city, including domestic violence orgnaizations and a scholarship fund. 

In 2012, Sandusky, then 68, was sentenced to 30-60 years in prison after being found guilty on 45 counts related to a string of sex crimes on young boys. 

Paterno died the same year. His role in ignoring the teenage boy's abuse emerged in June this year from court documents made in the Sandusky trial.

Triumph: Socially aware Levy said that breaking Paterno's leg (the accident seen here from another angle) is the proudest moment of his career

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