After 62 seasons of coaching Penn State Football, 46 of which were as head coach, Joe Paterno has been fired by Penn State trustees following sexual abuse allegations levied against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Also fired was University President Graham Spanier.
Penn State officials indicated that the decision was reached late Wednesday evening in response to the growing furor surrounding the handling of the sexual abuse allegations. The announcement came just hours after Paterno announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season.
Speaking to students who had gathered at his house in support of Paterno, he said, “Right now, I’m not the football coach, and that’s something I have to get used to.”
Jerry Sandusky was arrested for having used his non-profit organization, “The second Mile,” to alledgedly exploit young men. Penn State officials alledgedly used their influence to cover up these activities over the course of approximately ten years.
A number of other university officials have also been named in the indictment of Sandusky as having lied under oath about their knowledge of the assistant coach’s actions.