Report: Penn State Preparing to Oust Joe Paterno
Update 2: On Twitter, New York Times national college football writer Pete Thamel says: "Was just told Joe Paterno will NOT be holding a press conference outside the school. He will coach practice today, per usual." Meanwhile, Nittany Lions blogger Ben Jones tweets: "People are burning their Penn State diplomas outside of Old Main," the campus building that houses offices of the Penn State president and school administrators.
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Update 1: Scott Paterno says his father received word that today's news conference was being cancelled at 11:05 a.m., 85 minutes before it was scheduled to begin. "If he had it his way we would be doing the press conference," the younger Paterno told The Philadelphia Inquirer. He also says his dad was prepared to discuss the Sandusky case, in addition to fielding questions about the Nebraska game.
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Now it appears Paterno may be set to his own, off-campus news briefing. SB Nation points us to a Twitter account for Scott Paterno that looks to be genuine. In addition to calling the New York Times report "premature," there was this exchange with a user:
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@ScottPaterno if you are handling his media -- and if Joe wants to address these accusations -- hold your own presser off campus. #PSUTue Nov 08 17:03:26 via EchofonDavid La Torre David_LaTorre
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@David_LaTorre working on it.Tue Nov 08 17:51:44 via Twitter for iPhoneScott Paterno ScottPaterno
Original post: The New York Times is reporting that Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will not be back next season, as questions continue to mount about the 84-year-old coach's response (or lack thereof) to the sexual abuse allegations made against former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
According to the Times, the school's board of trustees has yet to meet to figure out when exactly the coach will depart, but based on conversations with two university sources, it looks as if Paterno's exit could come "within days or weeks." The accelerated timetable would seem to imply he would not coach Penn State in a bowl game this year, and might not even finish out the regular season.
The school canceled Paterno's scheduled press conference Tuesday, after first telling reporters last night they would be able to ask him only about the team's upcoming game against Nebraska. Paterno's son Scott told the Associated Press that the decision to cancel the press conference came from university president Graham Spanier.
