Joe Paterno has been fired. Penn State President Graham Spanier is stepping down. The Department of Education has launched an investigation.
When 84-year-old Paterno heard the news of his firing, he held court one last time. According to The Associated Press, JoePa told a group of adoring students outside his “Happy Valley” home to “pray a little bit for those victims.”
“Right now, I’m not the football coach, and that’s something I have to get used to,” he said.
But he is the winningest football coach in Division I football history, with 409 wins, a distinction previously held since 1985 by Grambling State University’s iconic Coach Eddie Robinson. Ironically, the three-year criminal investigation, and resulting criminal charges, were not made public until exactly six days after Paterno, on October 29th, topped Coach Rob’s 408 career wins.
Coincidence?
It is only fitting that the Penn State officials who enabled the alleged crimes have been ousted. The administrative shake-up is only the beginning of the swamp-cleaning the disgraceful sexual assault case at Pennsylvania State University (PSU) demands. After reading the grand jury report detailing all manner of alleged sexual intercourse with adolescent boys – and the subsequent cover-up at Penn State University – dating as far back as 1998 – it is clear that unprecedented punitive measures must take place, both criminal and civil.
First and foremost, the Justice Department must launch an investigation into all law enforcement agencies that supposedly investigated the report of the mother who called university police – in 1998 – complaining that her son had come home with wet hair, after showering alone with then Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
