Joe Paterno Fired
Joe Paterno announces his retirement amidst Sandusky's Scandal at Penn State
The Nittany Lions head coach, Joe Paterno, has officially announced that he will retire at the end of the season. At 84 years old, Paterno is an invaluable institution on its own at Penn State. He has coached the Nittany Lions since 1966 and has successfully held onto the post for 62 consecutive seasons. That's the most seasons for any coach at any university. At an age at which most of us could probably only work our way out of the couch, Paterno still takes part of every practice and every game in what is perhaps one of the most demanding amateur leagues in the world.
The records support what many could call a extremely successful career. On November 6, 2010, Paterno recorded his 400th career victory with a 35-21 victory over Northwestern. Facing a 21-0 deficit, Penn State scored 35 unanswered points, tying Paterno's largest comeback victory as a coach. On October 29, 2011 Paterno passed Eddie Robinson to become the winningest head coach in Division I college football. He still trails the leader, John Gagliardi of Division III Saint John's University, by 73 wins. But at 84-years-old, he has decided to call it quits.
And here is the catch. Paterno is not leaving Penn State because he just had too much of football or because he got tired of working, or quite simply because he was ready to take a break and move on with his life. The downfall, if you will, is that Paterno is taking part of the blame for what his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, has allegedly done: sexually abuse up to 8. Sandusky is currently facing charges for 40 criminal counts of molesting eight young boys between 1994 and 2009 through his charitable foundation for at-risk youths, The Second Mile.
A very upset Paterno said that perhaps he hadn't done enough to stop Sandusky. That's probably what hurts him most, knowing that by not taking severe action, by not taking full measures, Sandusky kept on abusing children. Rumor has it, Sandusky sodomized a 10-year-old boy at the Penn State Stadium bathrooms. And that was just too much.
As soon as he announced his retirement he also said that the whole thing was a tragedy, and that with the benefit of hindsight, he realized now that he could have done much more. "I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief. 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."
It's still uncertain if the board of trustees of Penn State will take further action. Although he has announced his retirement, it has also been announced that a commission has been set upon the School to investigate the issue. If reports prove that Paterno in fact failed to report of known abuses by his staff, he might be fired before the end of the season. Paterno will pass Amos Alonzo Stagg for the most Division I games coached in history (both tied at 548) if he coaches against Nebraska this weekend.
Stephen Lars is a prominent sports blogger and currently covers NCAA Football, previews and handicaps for the BetIAS' Sports Betting Blog . You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.
Business owners: would you hire a Penn State graduate?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1110/Penn-State-riot-Students-react-to-Joe-Paterno-firing
Seems like they'd be an oh-so-wonderful addition to the office.
Get the answers...
Are rioting Penn State students telling us that raping kids is ok as long as their team wins games?
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1110/Penn-State-riot-Students-react-to-Joe-Paterno-firing
What does this say about American society?
Seems like Penn State students are ok with their head coach raping little boys as long as their their team is winning the game where men chase each other around with a ball.
Is that the message that I am getting?
Get the answers...
Why do so many people support Joe Paterno?
People rioted when he was fired.
Paterno should have made an effort to stop the child abuse. Just passing the problem on to someone else isn't enough. Especially since the people he passed it on to didn't do anything either.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2011/11/joe-paterno-fired-1.html
Get the answers...
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