Penn State Trustees Oust Coach Paterno
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- The day was always coming. The old coach was 84, and each new season brought questions whether it would be his last. No one, though, expected it to happen quite like this.
The Penn State board of trustees voted unanimously to fire football coach Joe Paterno on Wednesday night amid the growing furor over how the school handled sex abuse allegations against an assistant coach. Penn State president Graham Spanier also was ousted.
The massive shakeup came at the end of a day that started with Paterno announcing he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season, saying he wanted to finish with "dignity and determination." But the board decided he had to go immediately.
"The university is much larger than its athletic teams," board vice chair John Surma said during a packed press conference.
Paterno and Spanier were informed of the decision by telephone.
"We were unable to find a way to do that in person without causing further distraction," Surma said.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will serve as interim coach while Rodney Erickson will be the interim school president.
Earlier in the day a tearful Paterno, who won more games than any coach in major college football history, stood in an auditorium in the Penn State complex and told disbelieving players that he planned to retire at the end of the season.
Not because he was too old or couldn't win anymore, but because of the child sex abuse scandal involving longtime assistant coach and onetime heir-apparent, Jerry Sandusky.
"Success With Honor" was ending in disgrace, and the tears flowed from behind the thick eyeglasses.
"In all the clips I've seen of him, I've never seen him break down and cry," quarterback Paul Jones said. "And he was crying the whole time today."
Cornerback Stephon Morris said some players also were nearly in tears themselves.
"I still can't believe it. I've never seen Coach Paterno like that in my life," Morris said.
"He spent his whole life here, and he dedicated everything to Penn State," added safety Nic Sukay. "You could really feel
that."
Paterno said in a statement he was "absolutely devastated" by the case, in which Sandusky has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years, with some of the alleged abuse taking place at the Penn State football complex.
"This is a tragedy," Paterno said. "It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had
done more."
Paterno has come under harsh criticism -- including from within the community known as Happy Valley -- for not taking more action in 2002 after then-graduate assistant and current assistant coach Mike McQueary came to him and reported seeing Sandusky in the Penn State showers with a 10-year-old boy. Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz.
Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, although Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the incident to the authorities.
Paterno's ouster came three days before Penn State hosts Nebraska in its final home game of the season, a day usually set
aside to honor seniors on the team.
He appeared on the practice field earlier Wednesday in his signature khakis and navy windbreaker. Within five minutes of the start of practice, PSU officials told reporters to step back and then erected tall wooden boards in front of the fence.
The decision to remove the man affectionately known as "JoePa" brings to an end one of the most storied coaching careers -- not just in college football but in all of sports. Paterno has 409 victories -- a record for major college football -- won two national titles and guided five teams to unbeaten, untied seasons. He reached 300 wins faster than any other coach.
Penn State is 8-1 this year, with its only loss to powerhouse Alabama. The Nittany Lions are No. 12 in The Associated Press poll.
After 19th-ranked Nebraska, Penn State plays at Ohio State and at No. 16 Wisconsin, both Big Ten rivals. It has a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game Dec. 3 in Indianapolis, with a Rose Bowl bid on the line.
After meeting Tuesday, the board said it would appoint a committee to investigate the "circumstances" that resulted in the indictments of Sandusky, Curley and Schultz in the scandal and alleged cover-up.
In Washington, the U.S. Department of Education said Wednesday it has launched an investigation into whether Penn State failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law.
Sandusky, who retired from Penn State in June 1999, maintained his innocence through his lawyer. Curley has taken a leave of absence and Schultz has decided to step down.
The committee will be appointed Friday at the board's regular meeting, which Gov. Tom Corbett said he plans to attend, and will examine "what failures occurred and who is responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure" similar mistakes aren't made again.
In his initial statement, Paterno said the trustees should "not spend a single minute discussing my status" and have more
important matters to address.
According to the grand jury report, Paterno informed Curley and Schultz of his meeting with the graduate student but said Sunday he was not told about the "very specific actions" of the sexual assault.
Critics say Paterno should have done more.
"When an institution discovers abuse of a kid, their first reaction was to protect the reputation of the institution and the
perpetrator," John Salveson, former president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said this week.
Sandusky founded The Second Mile charity in 1977, working with at-risk youths. It now raises and spends several million dollars each year for its programs. Paterno is listed on The Second Mile's website as a member of its honorary board of directors, a group that includes business executives, golfing great Arnold Palmer and several NFL Hall of Famers and coaches, including retired Pittsburgh Steelers stars Jack Ham and Franco Harris.
On Wednesday, Sandusky's portrait on a mural in State College was painted over.
In his statement, Paterno said: "I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief."
He went on: "I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
