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 10:12 PM ^
....will be interim
November 9th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
This is the only way, in my opinion.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^
It was basically retirement for a 84 year old man. There was not much punishment when you consider the situation.
November 10th, 2011 at 9:19 AM ^
What do you mean "felt wrong" ? It WAS wrong. Paterno should, quite frankly, go to jail. Yep. He had very intimate knowledge of a recurrent crime, for eleven years, and he mostly above all, was in the best position to stop it, having the most power. With leadership comes accountability, and he sold out. FUCK him. Quit feeling sorry for him...Paterno got what he deserved...and I'm looking forward to when McQueary and others crack, and admit Paterno knew everything.. Then, Paterno will be going to JAIL.. as he should. And fuck off if you disagree, because if you do, you do not deserve to be a parent.
November 10th, 2011 at 9:46 AM ^
Should he have been fired? Abso-fricking-lutely. But this isn't 'Nam, man. There are rules about when we can send people to jail. To go to jail, you have to break the law. Paterno didn't break any laws.* And beyond that, the statute of limitations has almost certainly run. Ergo, he shouldn't (and won't) go to jail.
*Unless some other law-type can fin a way to turn this into a ongoing conspiracy, or a pattern of racketeering activity, or something like that. If so, I'm all ears.
November 10th, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
sure looks bright when we have PSU students rioting because he was fired, in my opinion they condone child rape and therefore can go to HELL
November 10th, 2011 at 7:37 AM ^
Paterno's actions were an egregious miscalculation on his part. That's how I see he thought it out, whether it was for the team, the program, or the university itself, he hid this filth and hoped the general public would never hear about it. Hardly a use of judgement than it was a 'political' expediency. It is sad it needed to be done, but it needed to be done.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
Just saw it on Sportscenter. Also the President is gone.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^
Even if we figured it would happen, totally surreal.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
Yeah, this is a good description. Still glad the BOT did the right thing.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:03 PM ^
Spanier needed a boot after his "unconditional support" disaster when this broke. He also could not have been completely in the dark on this either, too many reports were in the know.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:16 PM ^
I really hope the Penn State students don't do anything stupid tonight.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
all over it.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
Sucks that he had to go out this way, but it had to be done. The firestorm was too much, and you couldn't drag him out there for the final four.
I'll be interested in seeing if Bradley is retained following the end of the season.
http://twitter.com/BryanDFischer/statuses/134469656739192832
"RT @nicoleauerbach: This board of trustees decision was unanimous. Wow."
November 9th, 2011 at 10:30 PM ^
A board will often agree their decision will be unanimous one way or another to avoid infighting or further debate regarding votes
November 9th, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
But it's a little surprising in a case like this there wasn't one voice of disention for a figure like Joe Paterno. Perhaps they feared their jobs?
I feel sad for JoePa. He should have gone out like a champion, but I guess it's good we live in a world where some morals bend for no man. I will point 99.9999% of my anger at Sandusky. JoePa's no criminal. Just horribly negligent.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:51 PM ^
If they present a split voice they'll have a much harder time getting it back together. Whatever they do, it has to appear decisive--a dissenting voice would be a point of crystallization for the discontent elsewhere in the community.
I'd be surprised if there weren't supportive voices on the Board--in fact, it's clear from the news flow that there were (one of yesterday's news stories was that Paterno appeared to be beginning to lose the support of the Board). They fought it out, and when it became clear the decision was going to made to fire the dissenters changed their votes.
November 10th, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^
joepa is 1000x negligent but not criminal
November 10th, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^
joepa is 1000x negligent but not criminal
November 10th, 2011 at 8:50 AM ^
is this. And at the same time, it's what you don't seem to understand.
Sandusky, Curley, Schultz...they will get what is coming to them.
Joe Paterno, by all accounts, didn't technically do anything illegal. But from a standpoint of doing right from wrong, he is incredibly guilty. And that is why he needs to be fired, needs to be burned in the media and needs have his football career marginalized: so people can understand just how serious this issue is and just how despicable his inaction to help this children was.
November 10th, 2011 at 9:30 AM ^
Not by all accounts, actually. There are other federal reporting laws that might have been violated (I work in higher ed.). The Cleary Act applies.
November 10th, 2011 at 9:53 AM ^
thanks.
November 10th, 2011 at 10:58 AM ^
The Fed Board of Governors often does the same thing, they argue it out behind closed doors and then present a united front.
I have to give props to the board for acting fairly quickly in this case. Paterno had to go, it would have created too much of a distraction if he had stayed on for the rest of the season.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
Five days from the story breaking to canning Mr. Paterno. Incredible.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:33 PM ^
It's a new world we live in...everything is compressed remarkably in terms of immediacy in media investigation. Ask Jim Tressel.
That said, in this case, the optics for Penn State are, and will remain, brutal. Sadly, the problems of the program pale in comparison to the problems of the victims.
November 10th, 2011 at 8:08 AM ^
It was months between tatgate initially breaking and Tressel leaving - not even close to five days.
November 10th, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
I still don't quite understand why the story didn't break until now. It seems a little too convenient that he was able to get win number 409 and then the bombshell dropped.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:28 PM ^
That's a huge stretch and you know it. The Grand Jury doesn't care about Paterno's wins or career. They released the report when they released it without regards to Penn State's football schedule
November 10th, 2011 at 3:24 PM ^
Yes, I know it's a stretch to assume that. But when you're talking about a man described as the most powerful person in Pennsylvania, who knows? All the current angst over the JoePa firing would be doubled if he'd been sacked before he achieved that precious record.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
however, if I was a PSU fan, this would be the only course of action that would allow my continued support of the program. The whole program needs to be cleaned out and it looks like PSU is getting their house in order...what a sad series of events
November 9th, 2011 at 10:24 PM ^
Penn State fan. They're going nuts over there. Apparently, the board is gutless and this
"If true we as a society have descended into the media equivalent of the French Terror
Mob rule at it’s worst.
by carolinaeasy on Nov 9, 2011 7:05 PM PST up reply actions 5 recs "
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/2011/11/9/2551001/penn-state-scandal-bo…
November 10th, 2011 at 11:39 AM ^
This response is a little disturbing:
Wow...
They know campus is going to burn tonight right?
Are they really that stupid? Really?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
Who would have predicted that the very fabric of one of college football's most storied programs would unravel in less than 72 hours?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:20 PM ^
up there with the SMU death penalty in terms of a shoker. Joe Pa has been the role model for coaches and now is fired in disgrace. All I can say is wow.
We can all learn a valuable lesson. Always do the right thing regardless of protecting someone.
Tom Bradley is now coach. Maybe RR, Meyer or even Millen next year?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:32 PM ^
Please let penn state hire matt millen.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:47 PM ^
I can't believe people think PSU will actually bounce back from this immediately and get a hire like Urban Meyer. Get real man. NOBODY will want to walk into that mess any time soon.
November 10th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
Maybe not Meyer, but I could see someone like Al Golden taking the job. it isn't like they will be walking into reduced scholarships, bowl bans, etc. The entire AD will be gutted, along with university administration. I would rather go to this situation over Miami or USC. All of the people involved in this cover up will be shown the door and they will start from scratch. The worst thing that a new coach will have to deal with is following a football legend in Paterno.
November 10th, 2011 at 8:16 AM ^
The guy who's one the honorary board of directors for The Second Mile? Not so sure that's in the cards.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^
If the University plans to salvage anything, this is the only thing that makes sense.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^
Pride.
The Fall.
The Rise... Urban?
November 9th, 2011 at 10:28 PM ^
IMO I can't imagine him taking on that buzzsaw. I'd imagine they hire either a complete outsider or a less qualified alumnus, suffer through 3 yrs of mediocrity until the guy steps aside and a new era is ushered in. Making a big boom might be looked at as trying to overshadow the events with flash
November 9th, 2011 at 11:00 PM ^
Meyer wouldn't be taking over a program that sucked, nor would he be taking over a program on probation. He would probably be able to bring in an entirely new staff, make a big deal of "cleaning house," and not lose more than a year of recruiting in talent-rich PA. If Meyer was offered the job, which could happen, he would be a fool if he didn't at least take it into consideration.
The torch and pitchfork crew got their blood, but their appetites will only be fully sated when everyone from the current regime is gone. This would be a very easy transition for Meyer or any top-notch coach.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^
It stands to reason they are also going to assess whether the football program has gotten too big, too important, too autonomous, too insulated, etc.
November 9th, 2011 at 11:27 PM ^
Would you send your kid to Penn State?
November 9th, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
Matt millen? /s
November 9th, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
Matt millen? /s
November 9th, 2011 at 10:56 PM ^
I think they are going to work on reining in the football program next. That doesn't seem like the best circumstance to bring in someone like Urban.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:20 PM ^
We never even knew anything about this a week ago and now JoePa is gone. Unreal, but it had to be done.
November 9th, 2011 at 10:20 PM ^
He got what he deserved. Im glad the BOD had the balls to do this. This is the right thing, even though it is unfortunate, it had to be done.