Paterno stunned by firing in Penn State scandal

(CBS/AP) 

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Joe Paterno was stunned that Penn State's Board of Trustees fired him Wednesday night amid a child sex-abuse scandal involving his one-time heir apparent, a source close to the outgoing football coach told CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.

The winningest coach in major college football history found out about his termination from a letter hand-delivered by a university employee about 15 minutes before the trustees publicly announced their decision in a press conference, the source said.

"You give your life to this place, and that's how you're treated," the source said.

Paterno's termination sent angry students into the streets where they shouted support for their coach and tipped over a news van.

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"Right now, I'm not the football coach. And I've got to get used to that. After 61 years, I've got to get used to it," the 84-year-old Paterno said, speaking outside his house. "Let me think it through."

Paterno had earlier in the day announced his intention to retire at the end of the season, his 46th.

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It didn't matter.

"I'm not sure I can tell you specifically," board vice chair John Surma replied when asked at a packed news conference why Paterno had to be fired immediately. "In our view, we thought change now was necessary."

Also relieved of duty was Penn State president Graham Spanier. Both were ousted by a board of trustees fed up with the damage being done to the university's reputation by the alleged abuse by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

As word of the firings spread, thousands of students flocked to the administration building, shouting, "We want Joe back!" and "One more game!" They then headed downtown to Beaver Avenue, where about 100 police wearing helmets and carrying pepper spray were on standby. Witnesses said some rocks and bottles were thrown, a lamppost was toppled and a news van was knocked over, its windows kicked out.

State College police said early Thursday they were still gathering information on any possible arrests.

The decisions to oust Paterno and Spanier were unanimous, Surma said. Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will serve as interim coach, and the university scheduled a news conference with him for Thursday morning. Penn State hosts Nebraska on Saturday in the final home game of the season, a day usually set aside to honor seniors on the team.

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Joe Paterno, 1926-2012

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Provost Rodney Erickson will be the interim school president.

Paterno had come under increasing criticism — including from within the community known as Happy Valley — for not doing more to stop Sandusky, who has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years. Some of the assaults took place at the Penn State football complex, including a 2002 incident witnessed by then-graduate assistant and current assistant coach Mike McQueary.

McQueary went to Paterno and reported seeing Sandusky assaulting a young boy in the Penn State showers. Paterno notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified Spanier. Curley and Schultz have been charged with failing to report the incident to authorities, and Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly earlier this week refused to rule out charges against Spanier.

Paterno is not a target of the criminal investigation, but the state police commissioner called his failure to contact police himself a lapse in "moral responsibility."

Paterno said in his statement earlier Wednesday that he was "absolutely devastated" by the abuse case.

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

The Penn State trustees had already said they would appoint a committee to investigate the "circumstances" that resulted in the indictment of Sandusky, and of Curley and Schultz. The committee will be appointed Friday at the board's regular meeting, which Gov. Tom Corbett said he plans to attend, and will examine "what failures occurred and who is responsible and what measures are necessary to ensure" similar mistakes aren't made in the future.

In Washington, the U.S. Department of Education said it has launched an investigation into whether Penn State failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law.

"The Penn State board of trustees tonight decided it is in the best interest of the university to have a change in leadership to deal with the difficult issues that we are facing," Surma said.

"The past several days have been absolutely terrible for the entire Penn State community. But the outrage that we feel is nothing compared to the physical and psychological suffering that allegedly took place."

Sandusky, who announced his retirement from Penn State in June 1999, maintained his innocence through his lawyer. Curley has taken a leave of absence and Schultz has decided to step down. They also say they are innocent.

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[gabrielarchangel]

Lawsuit,lawsuit,lawsuit, sue the school and everyone who was a part of the cover up, and jail time to the pervert.

[Sherbet58]

Wow, he really doesn't get the seriousness of all this. He failed to report a child rape to the police. How could he have possibly justified his inaction? Okay, he reported the "incident" to his superiors. But, when they didn't take it to authorities, how did this guy sleep nights without taking action on his own?

[xxxdiddy]

Here's just one of dozens of incredibly implausible scenarios that we are forced to believe in order to also believe that Joe Paterno "did nothing wrong."

McQueary tells Paterno (depending on whose story you believe) that he either saw Sandusky anally raping a young boy in the showers of the PSU football locker room or at the very least that "something Sexual" or "inappropriate" happened in the shower.

Now if Paterno really had no prior knowledge or suspicion of Sandusky being a pedophile, the minute McQueary leaves the room, doen't Paterno call Sandusky, his dear and trusted friend, and say, "Jerry what the F(^&^!!! is going on?????

Even if this phone call isn't made immediately, doesn't Joe see Sanusky over the next nine years? Don't they ever talk?

If they don't, you've got to ask, why not?

If they do, you've got to assume the conversation above happens, or ask, why not??????


Now Sandusky either tells him, "yes, it's true," or tells Paterno, "Joe it never happened."

Paterno either believes Sandusky or belives McQueary, right? Someboby's got to be lying, don't they?

So, if Paterno believes McQueary, how does Paterno not only remain silent, but remain on the board of Sandusky's Second Mile orgaization...HOW??????

If Paterno believes Sandusky, how does he keep McQueary on his staff, in fact promoting him to more and more responsible position within the coaching staff.

The more logical assumption would be that he believed McQueary, but still did nothing to jepordise his own reputation, the program or the reputaion of PSU.

That is absolutely despicable.

[Samantha__]

he let a friend sexually abuse children. He condoned it to keep his job. Put him in prison. His age only belies how many years he let this go on.
Nazi sympathizers turned their heads, too.
He is a disgusting POS and he knows it.

[Samantha__]

yea, so sorry he let a pedophile continue to abuse young boys. No pity here. He is a coward who would keep his job instead of doing the right thing. He's as evil as the pedophile. No tears here. He is an accomplice.
His age belies how many years he let this pedophile get away with perversion. He needs to be in prison with the perp, he's a perp himself. How selfish and evil he was to let his friend abuse young children.

[mendomonk]

Paterno is "stunned," eh? I'd wager those kids were stunned whilst bein' *stung* by a creepy ol' pedophile...

SAndusky founded the program for "at risk" youth (translate that: disenfranchised, unfortunate, mightn't-be-believe, possibly parentless fair game... children of straw, perfect targets for gettin' away with it). Anyone who has ever been voiceless - and if you haven't just wait until you're sick or very elderly - should be able to identify with this story's potential relevance to themselves and/or any loved ones they have in custodial care, etc. It's all about the abuse of power, which he ensured by choosing to *help* the "at risk" among us... some savior! They walk among us, and they are many.

[truth_police]

Every single time you hear someone pretending to express "objective piety" by saying "we do not have enough reliable information" to make a judgment - you know immediately that they have never read the GRAND JURY REPORT - and they probably never will. There's no dearth of reliable, credible 'facts' in that report and there is more than plenty of facts there to warrant what the Board did and to warrant the public outrage over Paterno's falure to follow-up and report a reprehensible vicious crime to the police, who described Paterno's inaction as constituting a moral lapse of judgment. Anyone claiming there's a lack of evidence is either in denial or they're in cover-up mode.

[jade84116]

He should've called the Police after the higher ups did nothing. He didn't and should be prosecuted for that. He let those kids down. He deserves to be fired.

[rsmik]

I wish he had done more also.

[smittyc]

Just keep them all away from me.