Former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Hires TMG Strategies For Crisis Management

WASHINGTON -- Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, recently fired from his position in the wake of sex scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, has hired a Virginia-based crisis relations firm, TMG Strategies, to handle all future media requests on the matter.

The move, which was tweeted by Paterno's son Scott and confirmed by the Washington Business Journal, puts Paterno in the company of TMG's other big-name clients, which include corporations like General Motors, Texaco, IBM, Coke, 3M, Symantec and the American Beverage Association.

TMG's website states that the firm, based in Arlington County, "provides counsel to organizations facing their toughest communications challenges -- challenges to their reputations, to their bottom line and to their morale."

According to USA Today, Paterno became aware of alleged acts of sexual assault by Sandusky as early as 2002. Paterno informed athletics director Tim Curley of the incidents, but Curley and his superiors failed to alert police or child-protection authorities. Sandusky continued to frequent the Penn State campus:

Sandusky, though retired since 1999, continued to enjoy wide access to the school's athletic facilities outside of a ban on bringing children with him. And when the abuse became public and Sandusky was arrested last weekend, charged with assaulting eight boys over a 15-year period, Paterno drew heavy fire for not pushing further on what he knew. He might have gotten a suspected serial offender off the street.