Students rioted on Wednesday morning, while others gathered at Joe Paterno's house crying to condole with him. 84-year -old head coach, Joe Paterno was fired last Tuesday due to mishandling allegations of his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky's molestation of a 10-year-old boy. Reportedly, in 2002 when graduate assistant Mike McQueary witnessed the alleged abuse of the boy by Sandusky, he reported it to Joe Paterno who in turn reported it to higher school authorities.
Paterno, upset about the allegations told his players that he was retiring at the end of his 46st season. Unfortunately, that same day, the committee of Penn State fired him. Many on the board felt that Paterno could not lead effectively and safely and that he should have told police authorities rather than telling his authorities at Penn State. The president, Graham Spinier was also called to be accountable for his lack of initiative and was asked to step down from his position.
According to Paterno, he informed both athletic director Tim Curley, and the Vice President of the school, Gary Shultz. After the committee decided to assign a small team to investigate the details of the assault, they determined that both Curley and Shultz had covered up the event. Paterno also denies McQueary's information of the shower incident as having even mentioning words with connotations of molestation. ESPN reports that Paterno states that he only recalls the words "touching, fondling, or horsing around" in McQueary's report of the alleged event.
When Joe Paterno was fired, approximately 2,000 students rioted. The damage included a news van being pushed over while others kicked out the windows. It also included some students throwing rocks at a news reporter. Paterno asked the students to leave peacefully and to respect the decision of the Penn State committee. Quickly elevating, the police had to use tear gas on the student body due to the uneven ratio of students to police officials. On Thursday, the police were further investigating any possible student arrests. ABC news reports that Mike McQueary could not even attend the Saturday game against Nebraska due to numerous threats against his wellbeing.
Among Paterno's 46 years at the college, his status as a coach has been unprecedented; his 409 victories, 2 national titles, 5 undefeated teams, and ability to lead his team to 300 victories faster than any other coach speaks for itself. Those on the football team said that when Paterno announced his retirement he was crying to which they had reportedly never seen him like that before. When walking off the field at his last game, the players gave him a standing ovation as an act of support and gratitude for their team and his 45 years of service to the other college teams. Despite all of his achievements, ABC reports that two U.S Senators, who had formerly supported Paterno as a candidate for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, were no longer holding the same stance.
Sandusky, who continually maintains his stance of innocence, is also known for his foundation set up to help youths in need of aid. His charity is named the Second Mile and was founded in 1977; among the famous names that support the cause are Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Arnold Palmer and former head coach Joe Paterno. The Department of Education in Washington reports that Penn State was by law, required to report any allegations of sexual abuse to the authorities. It has been reported that Sandusky has sexually harassed 8 boys in 15 years. Athletic coordinator Tim Curley has decided to take a leave of absence while Gary Shultz has retired; interim coach Tom Bradley will have the heavy task of filling Joe Paterno's shoes while Rodney Erickson will take over the presidential position.
