The reports of Paterno's death swept the internet and flooded Twitter and may have started when the Penn State student website Onward State reported that Penn State players were notified of longtime head coach Joe Paterno's passing via email, and CBSSports.com went on that report.
However, Paterno family spokesperson Dan McGinn told a New York Times reporter that the report of Paterno's demise is "absolutely not true." Onward State later retracted their report.
Late Saturday night, the managing editor of Onward State resigned and issued a retraction to earlier tweets reporting Paterno's death. Devon Edwards, who is a student at the university, was the one who first reported Paterno's apparent death. "I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been. To all those who read and passed along our reports, I sincerely apologize for misleading you," she said. "In this day and age, getting it first often conflicts with getting it right, but our intention was never to fall into that chasm.
Paterno, 85, disclosed on November 18 that he had treatable lung cancer. He has been in and out of the hospital since then for treatment with radiation and chemotherapy, and after he fell at home in December and broke his pelvis.
The winningest coach in major college football history, Paterno was head coach at Penn State for 46 years. University trustees ousted him for failing to tell police what had been passed on to him about the alleged sex abuse.
Longtime Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky faces 52 counts of sexual abuse of boys over a period of 15 years, including some incidents at the football complex on campus. Disclosure of the charges against Sandusky shocked the university and led to one of the biggest scandals in college sports history.
A Penn State graduate assistant testified to a grand jury that he told Paterno in 2002 that he witnessed Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers at the football building. Paterno said he passed the information on to his boss, then Athletic Director Tim Curley. But no one told police, and the abuse continued for years, according to prosecutors.
Trustees of the university fired Paterno on November 9 with four games remaining in the football season. His ouster sparked demonstrations by students who felt he was treated unfairly, and anger among some alumni. The two top officers of the university trustees stepped down this week.
University President Graham Spanier was fired along with Paterno, and Curley and a former finance official in the athletic department face charges of lying to a grand jury about the alleged abuse.
However, Paterno family spokesperson Dan McGinn told a New York Times reporter that the report of Paterno's demise is "absolutely not true." Onward State later retracted their report.
Late Saturday night, the managing editor of Onward State resigned and issued a retraction to earlier tweets reporting Paterno's death. Devon Edwards, who is a student at the university, was the one who first reported Paterno's apparent death. "I never, in a million years, would have thought that Onward State would be cited by the national media, and today, I sincerely wish it never had been. To all those who read and passed along our reports, I sincerely apologize for misleading you," she said. "In this day and age, getting it first often conflicts with getting it right, but our intention was never to fall into that chasm.
Paterno, 85, disclosed on November 18 that he had treatable lung cancer. He has been in and out of the hospital since then for treatment with radiation and chemotherapy, and after he fell at home in December and broke his pelvis.
The winningest coach in major college football history, Paterno was head coach at Penn State for 46 years. University trustees ousted him for failing to tell police what had been passed on to him about the alleged sex abuse.
Longtime Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky faces 52 counts of sexual abuse of boys over a period of 15 years, including some incidents at the football complex on campus. Disclosure of the charges against Sandusky shocked the university and led to one of the biggest scandals in college sports history.
A Penn State graduate assistant testified to a grand jury that he told Paterno in 2002 that he witnessed Sandusky assaulting a boy in the showers at the football building. Paterno said he passed the information on to his boss, then Athletic Director Tim Curley. But no one told police, and the abuse continued for years, according to prosecutors.
Trustees of the university fired Paterno on November 9 with four games remaining in the football season. His ouster sparked demonstrations by students who felt he was treated unfairly, and anger among some alumni. The two top officers of the university trustees stepped down this week.
University President Graham Spanier was fired along with Paterno, and Curley and a former finance official in the athletic department face charges of lying to a grand jury about the alleged abuse.
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