The Buckingham

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In a statement issued by the Penn State University Board of Trustees on Monday, the board defended its decision to fire Joe Paterno as head football coach this past November. The scandal began when sexual abuse charges were filed against Jerry Sandusky, who was an assistant coach under Paterno.

According to the board, the Penn State community has asked the members of the board to explain their choice to fire Paterno, even though no charges were filed against the legendary coach. The Board of Trustees blamed the firing on Joe’s “failure of leadership”.

The board also explained why the firing took place over the phone instead of in person. The “media representatives, photographers, and others” surrounding the Paterno household made delivering the news difficult, according to the statement.

Joe Paterno coached Penn State’s football team for nearly 60 years before his firing. He also has the most wins in college football history (409) and won two national titles during his career. Paterno passed away on January 22nd at the age of 85 of lung cancer.

Members of the board claim to “share the grief of the entire Penn State family at the passing of Joe Paterno” despite their decision in November.

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