Talk > Sports Chat > [NCAA-F] Truth finally out over Paterno firing

Penn State trustees say they decided to oust Joe Paterno in part because the football coach didn't meet a moral obligation to do more to alert authorities about a child sex abuse allegation against a retired assistant coach.

Trustees interviewed Thursday by The Associated Press also cited statements from Paterno in the days and hours leading to his dismissal Nov. 9 — after nearly a half-century of leading the Nittany Lions— that they felt challenged the Board of Trustees' authority. Board members saw that as inappropriate

A day after the graduate assistant, Mike McQueary, came to see him, Paterno relayed the accusations to his superiors, one of whom oversaw campus police. Board members didn't think that was enough.

given a short briefing about Sandusky months earlier by school President Graham Spanier and general counsel Cynthia Baldwin. That session lasted roughly 7 minutes and provided few insights, trustees said.

Since then, some alumni and former players have been questioning the actions of the trustees.

With Spanier in attendance, general counsel Cynthia Baldwin had briefed the board about the grand jury investigation into Sandusky in May. "Blaming Joe Paterno for the failure of administration officials and the board to properly investigate Jerry Sandusky is unjustified," Paterno's lawyer, Wick Sollers, said in a statement to The New York Times. In another statement, the group Penn Staters for Responsible Stewardship said the board's comments have "done nothing but raise additional questions."

"We can conclude, that consequently, their hasty and panicked damage control efforts in the first days of November, and the uncomfortable position they found themselves in, being caught flat-footed, instead of in a proactive leadership position, led to the unjust firing of Joe Paterno, without so much as a conversation, let alone complete due process," the group's statement said.

Other critical alumni have called for wholesale changes in the board's makeup, and more transparency into how the board operates.

Penn State University will undergo yet another leadership change, this time at its highest level.

The board's chairman, Steve Garban, and vice chairman, John Surma, both announced on Friday afternoon that they would not seek another term as chair and vice chair.

Karen Peetz, chief executive officer of financial market and treasury services for The Bank of New York Mellon, was elected the new chairperson. The new vice chairman is Keith Masser, president of Sterman Masser Inc., a family farm in Sacramento, Pa.

Trustees interviewed Thursday by The Associated Press also cited statements from Paterno in the days and hours leading to his dismissal Nov. 9 — after nearly a half-century of leading the Nittany Lions— that they felt challenged the Board of Trustees' authority. Board members saw that as inappropriate

But he should have been let go many months earlier than he was.

Sally Jenkins, sports writer for years with the Washington Post, did a long interview with Joe Paterno recently in his home. It's long enough that it doesn't paint either a "he's a hero" or "he's a villain" picture. 5 pages and worth a read: »www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co···ory.html

Onward State, the student-run Penn State website, reported on Saturday that Paterno had been taken off his respirator that morning, according to a source close to the family. Further, a report by Tom McAndrew of Blue White Illustrated indicates that Paterno's extended family has been summoned to the hospital.

Mike Sisak of the Citizens' Voice in Wilkes-Barre is reporting that Paterno is "near death."

I read the first two pages and then clicked on next page and got a sign in screen ( screenshot ) I got around it by going back to page 1 and then clicking on the print button on top of the article.....that opened up the entire article.