Joe Paterno Fired: Penn State Icon Issues Statement On Firing

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno released the following statement Wednesday:

"I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees' decision, but I have to accept it.

A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed. I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain calm and please respect the university, its property and all that we value.

I have been incredibly blessed to spend my entire career working with people I love. I am grateful beyond words to all of the coaches, players and staff who have been a part of this program. And to all of our fans and supporters, my family and I will be forever in your debt."

Earlier Wednesday, Paterno released a statement saying he planned to retire at the end of the season:

"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.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University."

Comments

[Bobrobert]

08:11 AM on 11/13/2011

Sex slaves are abused in every town of America ... why should anyone be upset about a couple of boys being abused???

Oh... folks can PRETEND to care!!!

Keep on lying to yourself and ignore sex abuse that occurs in the schools and in your town everyday... !!!

[zz2011]

01:16 PM on 11/11/2011

Paterno got a call from McQueery regarding what he saw (Sandusky) doing. A coach (Sandusky) that JoPa had let go 3 years earlier & who he was not the boss of and who he did not have authority over. JoPa immediately called the AD-Althetic Director (Curley). JoPa didn't just call, he had Curley to his home the next day to further inform him. Joe didn't stop there, (per the grand jury report) he ALSO called Gary Shultz, who was THE HEAD OF THE PENN STATE POLICE, and met with him (Shultz) and Athletic Dir (Curley). People say JoPa should have alerted the police, he alerted the HEAD OF POLICE! Its easy to say he "should have done more" but my God, he promtly called the AD & the Head of Police about a story he was told. Get the facts- Jo Pa, who has done so much for so many, deserves more credit. Calling Shultz the Head of Finance is misleading. JoPa didn't call Shultz b/c he was head of Finance. He called him b/c of his position as the Head of Police. So when ripping JoPa at least tell the truth, he called the person w/ the highest authority in Athletics and then called the person w/ the highest authority over crimes in the entire university. Who knows what Curley/ Shultz told JoPa in later follow ups..... "we're handling it". Why do pedofiles strike for years before they are caught? Because they are excellent at hiding it.

[Brian Bean]

09:18 PM on 11/11/2011

And when the Penn state police failed to act he should have gone outside campus police and gone to the appropriate local police jurisdiction and reported that nothing was being done about it. And if still nothing is being done then you go to the press, you go somewhere, anywhere until someone does something. This isn't a dirty little secret of the Penn State campus. This is a dirty little secret of a community. If you think that this wasn't discussed behind closed doors with other members of the community outside the campus you are very naive.

[Bobrobert]

08:08 AM on 11/13/2011

I wonder why sex slaves in America are abused everyday... because you have done nothing to stop it!!!

[LadyFanshawe]

03:10 PM on 11/10/2011

I wish I had made book in Vegas on Jo Pa's future when the story first broke a few days ago. I could have made zillions.
Paterno, etc. are State employees and probably also considered "teachers" under law if they have faculty privleges. But with these privileges, come responsibilities. Under law, the responsibility is to report even just suspected child abus to the police, not up, through or around the chain of command.

[Jesus Germanotta]

10:13 AM on 11/10/2011

Some of the most right wing and reactionary people in the ruling class are Paterno and his squalid ilk. Now we can see who and what they TRULY are.

[James Brown2]

12:47 PM on 11/10/2011

Actually, Paterno is a warm hearted progressive who indulged the flaming homosexual he hired, former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, to continue to rape boys and teenagers on his watch.
Now that's tolerance and diversity for ya!

[kentuckymom]

08:53 AM on 11/10/2011

This country has become all about power. If it cost too much to an organization, corporation, entity--cover up starts. It is not about doing the right thing where ever I look. Just because you can doesn't mean that you should. College football programs are the money makers for universities. That is why they looked the other way. Just like the Catholic Church. People that commit these crimes are sick--but the people that know about the crimes are not sick--they should know the right actions to take immediately--yet the cost to report or protect these children are deemed too high. Accountability of the people in power has to be ushered back in. It is up to us as citizens of this country to usher it back and lay it at their feet and refuse to go away. I don't have an ounce of sympathy for Paterno. All of that is reversed for the family and the children scarred by this act. What has happened to this country that we talk about the coach affected instead of the children?

[kentuckymom]

11:04 AM on 11/10/2011

You as well Sir appear to be irrational and harmful. You are part of the problem in this world. I set you free to live in your anger and small world.

[Mark Redd]

01:24 PM on 11/10/2011

There but for the grace of God go I and you as well. What Sandusky did was simply unacceptable but it has nothing to do with sexual preference. Heterosexuals commit sexual acts on children too.

[GEORGE W TUSH]

08:48 AM on 11/10/2011

Yes, Penn State kids, we all hate the way morality messes up a perfectly good football program

[Jesus Germanotta]

10:20 AM on 11/10/2011

They are too young and too goose steppy. They have no children of their own. Many will regret protesting when they do.

[Ded Peasant]

08:16 AM on 11/10/2011

A tragedy? It didn't happen just once! There were multiple tragedies, and perpetuated by the inaction of him and others. Not one of them doing the right thing. Awful.

[Gimme2steps]

07:19 AM on 11/10/2011

Joe should not be making the power sign with a clenched fist, he should get down on his knee and pray for guidance and forgiveness.. He should direct the misguided students to do the same.

[Jesus Germanotta]

10:13 AM on 11/10/2011

There is no forgiveness for this.

[Brian Bean]

09:07 AM on 11/10/2011

My comment above contains factual errors in regards to Paterno having been an eyewitness. Mike McQueary was the eyewitness. I still believe that Paterno also had an obligation to, at the minimum, insist on McQueary reporting the incident to the police and to follow up to make sure it was being properly investigated. All of the men involved in covering this up or failing to insure that it was properly investigated should face appropriate charges. Whether eyewitness or second hand, both men had a responsibility and both men failed in that responsibility allowing this pedophile to remain free to continue harming other young boys. Other than my error confusing Mike McQueary with Paterno, I stand by the comments above. Mike McQueary's father was also in the wrong here. He should have advised his son to immediately call the police and then intervene in the rape. Mike McQueary should have done this instinctively but as stated above, he put his future career above the safety and protection of this child. Mike McQueary should have been the first one fired.

[Joan Reyes]

12:14 PM on 11/10/2011

No, he was not an eyewitness to the abuse. Get your facts straight because you are writing garbage. He was TOLD about the incident by a then graduate assistant in the football program. Mr. Paterno then went to his superior, and told him that an incident had happened in the showers. But he was not present during the sexual abuse. Mr. Paterno's sin was that he did not return to Curley and demand to know what became of his report. He should have demanded that Curley notify State College police. He did not and he has to live with the consequences of his actions.

It was Curley's job to immediately report the incident to University Police, which would have involved Schultz, the university administrator who oversaw the university police. He and Curley should have immediately contacted the State College police department and Children's Protective Services. They and the university president should have made Sanduskey persona non grata on university grounds. They did not and now all of this has blown up in their faces and will most certainly cost them their jobs.

I suggest you read the grand jury's finding so that you understand the timeline of the events.

[Brian Bean]

09:59 PM on 11/10/2011

Joan, I requested that my comment be removed once I realized that I had confused Paterno with McQueary and that this was a factual error. When this had not occurred swiftly enough, I corrected the error in a "reply" comment posted 3 hours before your reply. I disagree about the campus police issue. University's are not sovereign nations. Their campus police do not have sole jurisdiction in cases such as this and should not be trusted to investigate the incident properly as they are employee's of the University and therefore have a conflict of interest. Mr. Paterno was this man's direct superior and he should have reprimanded him for not taking immediate intervention action and immediately reporting the incident to the police. He then should have insisted on McQueary immediately calling the police and reporting the incident. Only then, he should have informed his superiors. This course of action would have prevented this cover up and would not have allowed Sandusky to be free to harm more kids for the next 9 years. This is inexcusable and all involved should face appropriate charges. It would seem that you are affiliated with this or some other University since you seem to be very familiar with procedure but I must say again that in instances of sexual attacks or any other crime that puts the University in a negative light, regardless of University policy, the local police should handle the investigation so that these types of cover ups do not occur.