Amid the storm of controversy surrounding the sex-abuse case of Jerry Sandusky, long-time Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was fired Wednesday night. While Paterno had initially announced he would retire at the end of the season, his 46th, the board of trustees made the decision to fire him along with Penn State President Graham Spanier in order to begin repairing the damage to the university’s reputation. Paterno came under criticism for not doing more when faced with reports of Sandusky, who has been charged with molesting eight boys over 15 years.
Paterno is under criticism for his decision at the time to notify the athletic director instead of contacting the police. Students reacted strongly to the news of Paterno’s firing, gathering outside his house to support him. What started out as support turned raucous, however, as some students began rioting and turned over a news van.
