Penn State Trustees Got Death Threats After Paterno Firing

After Joe Paterno's controversial firing in November, some Penn State trustees received death threats and hate mail, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week.

One board member, Keith W. Eckel, has been victim several threats. In one missive, an anonymous scrivener told Eckle he would have to "pay people" to attend his funeral. He also received a chilling phone call where the caller merely said, "The coach died. And you will, too."

Paterno was fired in the wake of Penn State's horrific sexual abuse scandal, after it was revealed that assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had been abusing boys on Penn State's premises and that members of the administration including Paterno, knew about the abuse and did not report it to the authorities

The trustees recently characterized Paterno's conduct as a "failure of leadership."

Meanwhile, reaction has been mixed to the idea of renaming Beaver stadium in Paterno's honor. According to a Quinnipiac poll, 46% of Pennsylvania voters would support changing the name of the iconic sports complex to Joe Paterno Stadium, however a sizable minority (40%) do not support the initiative.