Joe Paterno fired as Penn State football coach after fallout from sex abuse scandal

Penn State University students take to the streets and chanted Mr Paterno's name after hearing the famed coach had been sacked





'We want Joe back!' Penn State students riot as university fire Coach Paterno AND force president to quit amid sex scandal

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Joe Paterno was fired Wednesday night by Penn State’s Board of Trustees, triggering a massive and sometimes violent response from thousands of students, who still revere the Hall of Fame icon.

The Nittany Lion legend was axed amid outrage that he did not do enough in responding to allegations that his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused children on the Penn State campus.

“Joe Paterno is no longer head football coach of Penn State University,” vice chairman John Surma said. “The past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire Penn State community.”

The resignation of school president Graham Spanier was also announced during the late-night press conference.

Surma added that the university notified Paterno by phone. “We couldn’t find a way to do it in person without creating a greater distraction.”

Near the end of the press conference, someone in the audience yelled, “The campus is going to burn!”

In response, Surma said, “I’m sure the university is ready for whatever eventualities that might occur.”

That did not appear to be the case about an hour later, as a chaotic scene broke out with students hurling rocks and bottles at a local television van. The crowd then rushed the van and tipped it over. Police resorted to pepper spray in attempts to disperse the crowds, but their numbers only seemed to swell as the night wore on.

The smell of gasoline was heavy in the air, and fuel was pooling on the street. Students were saying, “Who has a match?” as cops threatened them with pepper spray.

At one point, a television reporter was pelted with rocks as members of media seemed draw most of the mob’s ire.

Paterno, responding to his dismissal, urged students to remain calm. “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,” he said.

“I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees’ decision, but I have to accept it,” Paterno added in a statement. “A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed.”

Earlier in the day, announcing that he would retire at the end of the season, Paterno called the scandal “one of the great sorrows of my life.”

However, the board never acknowledged Paterno’s plan, instead spending all day Wednesday deliberating.

“With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” Paterno, 84, said.

The sex abuse scandal also became a federal case on Wednesday when the U.S. Department of Education announced it would investigate whether the university complied with crime disclosure policies.

The Education Department said it notified university officials of the investigation in a letter on Wednesday. The Office of Civil Rights will also review the case to determine if further action is necessary.

“If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement posted on itsthe Education Department’s website. “If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse.”

Federal investigators will try to determine if Penn State officials complied with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and the Campus Crime Statistics Act. Colleges and universities are required to disclose the number of criminal offenses reported on their campuses each year.

Paterno has been widely criticized for not doing more to stop the alleged abuse by Sandusky once he was told of a lurid incident between the assistant coach and a boy in 2002.

Graduate assistant Mike McQueary had come upon a scene in the showers of the football locker room that would become the lynchpin of the scandal: He told the grand jury investigating the allegations of abuse that he had seen Sandusky having anal sex with a 10-year-old boy.

According to the grand jury report, McQueary said he heard “rhythmic slapping sounds. He believed the sounds to be those of sexual activity. . . . He looked into the shower. He saw a naked boy, victim 2, whose age he estimated to be 10 years old, with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by Sandusky.”

McQueary is currently the Nittany Lions’ receivers coach. Surma said Wednesday night that McQueary’s status with the team had not changed.

Sandusky, who is charged with abusing eight young boys over a 15-year period, could face more charges if more victims come forward.

Paterno met with coaches Wednesday morning at Lasch Hall and had tears in his eyes as he told players who could be rounded up that he would be leaving. He was given a standing ovation as he left the room.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will coach the Nittany Lions on Saturday against Nebraska.

Paterno, whose head coaching career spanned 46years at Penn State, has 409 victories, the most among major college coaches. He won national championships in 1982 and 1986.