Jo Paterno Fired
Link: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/It-8217-s-o…
Bradley will be interim.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:33 PM ^
Wow, sounds like all of the local media sent only their douchiest reporters tonight. One guy sounded like he was blaming the Board of Trustees for the fact that PSU students are rioting tonight. Another was screaming about Paterno's dignity, with no mention of the child victims.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^
My wife and I both said what about the dignity of the "alleged" victims. I'm sick of hearing poor Joe Pa. I feel for the victims. Paterno could have prevented future victims. It is sad to me that people feel sad for Paterno. He got what he deserved.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:34 PM ^
I'm not watching the conference anymore, my feed cut out, but I'm told several people are there pestering at the press conference and asking "How dare you fire Joe Pa" or some sort of questions defending him. How can you defend him after what he did? How naive can you be?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^
Wow. Michigan media looks tame after that conference...
November 9th, 2011 at 10:35 PM ^
November 9th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^
I dunno. Never underestimate the ability of college kids to rally around the "us against the world" line, whether justified or not.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:36 PM ^
Sucks but it had to be done, the speaker at the presser is trying to be nice. They talked to Joe and found out that he knew more than all these moron reporters thought he did. The speaker is trying his best to say without saying that Joe does deserve to be fired because of what he knew. All this while trying to let Joe leave with some integrity.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:21 PM ^
the sweeping of the incident under the rug.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:36 PM ^
I wonder what the recruiting fallout is going to be from this...
November 9th, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^
You gotta be shitting me.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:46 PM ^
Seriously people, there is wreckage of human lives all over the place in this still-smoldering plane crash of a story. Can we not go picking through the debris for the gold watches on the corpses just yet?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^
Having him on the field this weekend or any other would have been such a disaster - protestors, supporters conflicting, etc, etc. Would not have been an okay situation.
JoePa - thanks for your contributions to college football & for the good things in communities that you've done that will now likely go unremembered. I wish you had exercised better judgment and avoided this fate.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^
Any word on if he will be on the sidelines Saturday? I'm far more pissed at him than JoePa. McQueary is the one guy who can't say he didn't understand the full gravity of what was happening in the shower that day in 2002.
November 10th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
I think he's protected. But it could be the vodka.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:38 PM ^
Something about his comments on this are a little to rehearsed and concessionary. Seem like crocodile tears. I have a feeling he knows more. Just a feeling.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:39 PM ^
It's really hard to explain, but you should re-read the post on the main page from Six Zero about the PA perspective. As a native Pennsylvanian myself and a Mich grad, it's just a different mindset surrounding Paterno. I imagine it was something similar to what Bo had when he was coaching, but maybe even more extreme.
Joepa was probably the most influential figure in the STATE for the last 30 years. Not just sports, not just college or education, but in GENERAL. While I think this is the right thing to do in firing him, don't try to find any rationality in how people are acting. They are rioting in State College right now because everything PA has been told for the last 46 years has just been shattered. It's not about sports. It's like Joepa was the father of the state, and this is the backlash.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
Were they just chanting "Fuck the trustees" at PSU's campus? CNN has a feed, the anchor claims it was "something I heard Sandusky", but I don't think that was right.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^
I think you are right. I was (and am) certain they were protesting the trustees, but the reporter assumed it was Sandusky. They need to investigate more and babble on TV less.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
That was the report of the PSU student newspaper. Well, "Fuck the board."
November 9th, 2011 at 11:28 PM ^
Not taking the real thing seriously is what got PSU into this situation
November 9th, 2011 at 10:43 PM ^
I don't care if Joe Pa was a coaching legend, what he did was deplorable. The fact that these people are allegedly rioting and upset that Joe Pa is gone is pathetic. He didn't report a crime to the police. He should have, period. And that cost him his job. I don't see how a group of people can be so naive.
Deal with it, PSU
November 9th, 2011 at 10:42 PM ^
This whole mess is tragic and I have always respected JoePa while hating Penn State. But I don't feel any sympathy for him now. He screwed up and he rightfully should have to pay the consequences.
I fear the backlash from PSU students and fans is going to get ugly. Even more sympathy is going to go for JoePa when it should be going to all those boys who were victimized by Sandusky.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:44 PM ^
This seems to be the right step towards the healing process and cleaning house, but it still seems so crazy to see Joe Pa fired.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:46 PM ^
Joe Paterno fired? Looks like the Mayans were only one year off.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:46 PM ^
I could see him doing something real embarassing like show up for practice tomorrow in his Caddy and PSU has to call the cops to remove him, would just be a major scene.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:47 PM ^
May prove interesting as the night goes on. http://www.statecollege.com/tavern-cam/
November 9th, 2011 at 10:49 PM ^
How did this go from retiring at the end of the season to being fired today? Unhappy Valley is about to go up in flames.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:49 PM ^
Is disgusting.
<br>
<br>GO HOME AND GO TO BED.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
Blind loyalty, I guess. These students could pause to recognize that the victims of Sandusky are their peers.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^
Joe Pa to Ohio State? lol
November 9th, 2011 at 10:52 PM ^
Practicegate/Tatgate/PSU scandal.
Remember how we were the "moral" conference?
Haha.
Glad we cleared the air on that one.
[If you fail to see my sarcasm. Well, there's nothing I can do for you.]
November 9th, 2011 at 10:52 PM ^
Turn on CNN. It looks like the students at PSU may be approaching MSU riot mode.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:53 PM ^
I think he had to go. No doubt in my mind. However, after almost 50 years with PSU, Paterno deserved to be told in person instead of being fired over the phone. What an ugly ending to his career.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:53 PM ^
Can someone summarize what was said at the press conference? And the general tone of the Q&A? Sorry, no access to a TV at the moment.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
Paterno not going to coach another game. Spanier resigned. "Best interests of the university." Bradley to be interim coach. A provost appointed interim President. AD Curley not fired. McQueary also still employed. Not a lot of reasons stated as to firing Paterno. "The Board had enough information to do so." A lot of PR speak.
Curley not being fired is very, very odd and opens them to claims that they're reacting purely to the media firestorm and not based on facts.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:21 PM ^
nothing much besides Paterno and the President are out. They didn't have all info, etc.
Q&A was really terrible. Apparently students snuck in and asked a bunch of really terrible questions. I mean, it made the local media sound like huge homers. There was a guy chanting that PSU was going to burn tonight.
In summary: the most awesome press conference you could ever hope for.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
Earlier today, I predicted the board would fire JoePa within 24-48 hours. I was wrong. It took less than 12.
The student reaction is digusting and understandable all in one. They are grieving and don't know what to do with all their emotions. It reminds me of the protests at Indiana when they finally fired Bobby Knight, except this is (I think) even more extreme.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
He should have retired immediately. He is not a man! He allowed that sick bastard Sandusky to continue raping young at risk boys and destroying their lives.
<br>
<br>Fuck you Joe Patetno!
November 9th, 2011 at 10:59 PM ^
I know what he did was wrong. I feel for him because I know if he could do it all over again he probably would've done the right thing. Unfortunately, he'll have to live with this for the rest of his life....which at this point, since he's done with football I don't see him living another 2 years! This is literally going to kill him.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
Wow. Where does Penn State football go from here? What's left? What's their identity now?
November 9th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
Complete and utter delusion by many posters over at BSD.
How could they expect any other outcome?
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2011/11/9/2551001/penn-state-scandal-bo…
After reading posts mostly outraged at the firing and calling for harm to the BoT all I can say is how delusional...
November 9th, 2011 at 11:13 PM ^
Of course they're delusional. This is about as traumatic as anything a fan base can go through and so quickly too. It takes time to process something like this and even with time, what's left? It'll take years, maybe even decades for the Penn State community to come to a consensus.
Obviously this isn't the time to celebrate all Paterno did for Penn State, but it's unfair to expect the entire fan base to have that perspective at this point.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:23 PM ^
The only trauma that matters is that of the raped victims and their famlies.
Calling for physical harm to the PSU BoT is just beyond stupid...
November 9th, 2011 at 11:46 PM ^
I agree completely on both counts. I'm just saying when emotions are this raw after something so traumatic people are going to say poorly thought out things,
November 10th, 2011 at 12:23 AM ^
The only problem with that is most of these people (posters on BSD) have been defending the actions/inactions of those involved in the athletic dept. and football staff since the story broke.
"He reported it to his boss. What else was he supposed to do?" has become the mantra of many at BSD. Sad.
And if they have "trauma" due to these firings it's been brought upon them by their own stupidity.
I don't know, maybe they're blinded by their loyalty to JoPa but how they couldn't see the firing coming is beyond me.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:04 PM ^
How does the AD still have a job? They need to clean house that's the first step towards recovering from this monumental disaster. Whose going to be the first to start the RR to Penn State thread?
November 9th, 2011 at 11:08 PM ^
They need to completely clean house of the football program after the bowl game. All coaches should be gone, especially Bradley and McQueary. Bradley worked directly under Sandusky for years, had to of known about the 1998 investigation, and odds are the 2002 incident. All the coaches Im sure have seen Sandusky after 2002 in the facilities. Just really, really bad case of incompetence.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:09 PM ^
Until the AD and the GA are also gone I will give no credit to the BoT. Until they clean house of everyone that had knowledge of this they are trying to make the coach and president the main scapegoats.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:19 PM ^
Did the AD not already step down yesterday along with the other administrator, Gary Shultz?