On Tuesday, Mark Viera and Pete Thamel of the New York Times reported that Penn State University is planning the resignation of long-time Head Coach Joe Paterno. We learned today that it will happen at the end of the 2011 season. JoePa will indeed step down; but not until finishing the seaon.
Penn State had to make some heavy decisions these past 24 hours as the Jerry Sandusky scandal has snowballed into one of the biggest stories in college football history.
A new poll by Poll Position found that forty percent of Americans think Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno should resign in the wake of THE child sexual abuse charges.
Survey participants were asked, ‘Given the allegations of sexual assault on young boys against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, do you believe Paterno should resign?’
Forty percent said yes, he should resign, 29% said no, 21% said they need more facts before making a decision and 11% did not have an opinion.
From Fox Sports:
Buried in the statement Joe Paterno released this morning announcing that he plans to retire at the end of this season is the final piece of evidence, if you are one of the few who still need it, that the man must be removed from his head-coaching job immediately.
“That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season,” it reads. “At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.”
Paterno, on the heels of a sex scandal involving allegations that Jerry Sandusky, his former defensive coordinator, serially abused young boys, and Paterno did not do enough to put a stop to that abuse when alerted in 2002, is now issuing instructions to the Board of Trustees?
What Sandusky has allegedly done in the past is unforgivable, but it doesn’t change what Joe Paterno did for a school and place that wasn’t even on the map when he started as an assistant in 1950.
After 409 wins, three Big Ten championships (1994, 2005 and 2008) and two national championships (1982 and 1986), Paterno’s career should not be defined by what happened off the field.
There’s no doubt that Paterno should have went to the police, and he Fell WELL SHORT Morally, but his career on the football field should be kept separate from what he’s done off the field in the past.
Also breaking news this Tuesday was the cancellation of Paterno’s weekly press conference. Some say he will be at practice today, while others have rumored there is an attempt to set up a special news conference despite the school’s cancellation of the official one.
What do you think of Paterno’s end at Penn State? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.