STATE COLLEGE, PA. - Penn State's Board of Trustees has ended Joe Paterno's reign as the school's head football coach effective immediately.
Earlier Wednesday, Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the season after coming under pressure in recent days as details emerged regarding the sexual child abuse charges against former Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky.
But late Wednesday night, a unanimous decision by the school's Board of Trustees ended Paterno's tenure immediately, saying it was in the "best interest of the university as a whole."
Assistant coach Tom Bradley will take over as interim head coach, starting with Saturday's home game against Nebraska.
"The decision was difficult, but in the unanimous view of the trustees it was necessary for the long term interests of the university," said vice chair of the board of trustees John Surma, who took questions from the media during the surreal press conference.
Paterno, who had the news delivered to him with a phone call, had his house surrounded by PSU fans after the story broke. He stepped out briefly and addressed the crowd.
"I want to say hello to all these great students who I love," said Paterno, who was accompanied by his wife and shifted the focus back on the fans themselves. "Get a good night's sleep. Study. We still have things to do."
He added later, "Pray for those victims," before fittingly saying his goodbye with, "We are Penn State."
The scene at State College also saw the ousting of school president Graham Spanier, who released a statement regarding the decision.
"Penn State and its Board of Trustees are in the throes of dealing with and recovering from this crisis, and there is wisdom in a transition in leadership so that there are no distractions in allowing the University to move forward.
"This university is a large and complex institution, and although I have always acted honorably and in the best interests of the university, the buck stops here. In this situation, I believe it is in the best interests of the University to give my successor a clear path for resolving the issues before us."
Spanier had been school president for 16 years, while Paterno was an assistant coach starting in 1950 at age 23 and was elevated to the head coaching position in 1966.
The 84-year-old just became the winningest coach in Division I history on October 29, as a 10-7 win over Illinois gave Paterno 409 career wins to surpass the old mark set by Grambling State's Eddie Robinson.
Paterno not only led Penn State to success on the field with national championships in 1982 and '86, but he and his wife have also made generous financial contributions to the school and the surrounding community.
However, for all of the incredible accomplishments and benevolence, his legacy could very well be stained by the shocking allegations from this past weekend.
Sandusky, a longtime assistant under Paterno who retired in 1999, was arrested Saturday and charged with 40 counts of various sexual crimes -- some of which allegedly took place on the Penn State campus.
While Paterno is not regarded as a target of the ongoing investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General and state police, his knowledge of the alleged transgressions and his actions in the aftermath have come under scrutiny.
Paterno was made aware of one of the incidents that took place in 2002 in the showers of Penn State's football building by a graduate assistant, said to be current assistant Mike McQueary. Paterno dutifully informed athletic director Tim Curley. However, the coach's involvement apparently ended there.
The charges against Sandusky include involuntary deviate sexual intercourse; aggravated indecent assault; unlawful contact with a minor; and endangering the welfare of a child.
Details of Sandusky's actions were included in a grand jury presentment, which found that eight young men were the targets of sexual advances or assaults starting in 1994 and continuing through 2009.
Sandusky had operated a charitable organization for young people called The Second Mile and had unrestricted access to the Penn State football building and locker rooms as part of his retirement agreement.
Already, Curley stepped aside from his post as athletic director and Gary Schultz, who oversaw Penn State's police department and was also informed about the incident in 2002, resigned. The two were charged by the Pennsylvania Attorney General with perjury and failure to report under the Child Protective Services Law.
The attorney general's release this past weekend said the two men were charged because they took little action when confronted with Sandusky's alleged actions and lied about their knowledge of them.
Both Curley and Schultz made court appearances on Monday. Lawyers for both proclaimed their clients' innocence and both were released on $75,000 unsecured bail.
Less than two days later, the end of Paterno's long career, which has been debated and speculated about for years, became certain. And the one word that has been associated with Paterno for half a century -- football -- was nowhere to be found in his statement.
It had nothing to do with it. -Toronto Sun
Comments
Post a Comment