Longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, the 85-year-old patriarch of the storied but wounded program, was gravely ill Saturday night, according to his family, and loved ones were rushing to his hospital bed in State College, Pa., in anticipation that his battle against lung cancer would soon be coming to an end.
Despite media reports Saturday night of Paterno’s death, his son, Jay, said through his personal Twitter account at 9:21 p.m. that Paterno “is continuing to fight.” Paterno remained connected to a ventilator, according to individuals close to Paterno’s family, and his family was weighing whether to take him off the ventilator on Sunday.
The turn for the worse in Paterno’s condition on Saturday sent his scandal-scarred program, and the larger university community that seemed to revolve around that program, to yet another emotional nadir. Paterno, at one time perhaps the most beloved coach in America, had been fired by the school’s Board of Trustees on Nov. 9 in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving longtime Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Nine days later, it was revealed Paterno had lung cancer.
Meanwhile, about 200 students and townspeople gathered Saturday night in State College at a statue of Paterno.
Some brought candles, while others held up their smart phones to take photos of the scene. The mood was somber, with no chanting or shouting.
Jay Paterno tweeted, "Drove by students at the Joe statue. Just told my Dad about all the love & support—inspiring him."
The statue is just outside a gate at Beaver Stadium.
The 85-year-old Paterno has been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Not long before that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, with The Washington Post. Paterno was described as frail then and wearing a wig. The second half of the two-day interview was conducted by his bedside.
The final days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest in his 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach.
Sandusky, a longtime defensive coordinator who was on Paterno's staff in two national title seasons, was arrested Nov. 5 and ultimately charged with sexually abusing a total of 10 boys over 15 years. His arrest sparked outrage not just locally but across the nation and there were widespread calls for Paterno to quit.
Paterno announced late on Nov. 9 that he would retire at the end of the season but just hours later he received a call from board vice chairman John Surma, telling him he had been terminated as coach. By that point, a crowd of students and media were outside the Paterno home. When news spread that Paterno had been dumped, there was rioting in State College.
Police on Saturday night had barricaded off the block where Paterno lives, and a police car was stationed about 50 yards from his home. A light was on in the living room but there was no activity inside. No one was outside, other than reporters and photographers stationed there.
Trustees said this week they pushed Paterno out in part because he failed a moral responsibility to report an allegation made in 2002 against Sandusky to authorities outside the university. They also felt he had challenged their authority and that, as a practical matter, with all the media in town and attention to the Sandusky case, he could no longer run the team.
Despite media reports Saturday night of Paterno’s death, his son, Jay, said through his personal Twitter account at 9:21 p.m. that Paterno “is continuing to fight.” Paterno remained connected to a ventilator, according to individuals close to Paterno’s family, and his family was weighing whether to take him off the ventilator on Sunday.
The turn for the worse in Paterno’s condition on Saturday sent his scandal-scarred program, and the larger university community that seemed to revolve around that program, to yet another emotional nadir. Paterno, at one time perhaps the most beloved coach in America, had been fired by the school’s Board of Trustees on Nov. 9 in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving longtime Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Nine days later, it was revealed Paterno had lung cancer.
Meanwhile, about 200 students and townspeople gathered Saturday night in State College at a statue of Paterno.
Some brought candles, while others held up their smart phones to take photos of the scene. The mood was somber, with no chanting or shouting.
Jay Paterno tweeted, "Drove by students at the Joe statue. Just told my Dad about all the love & support—inspiring him."
The statue is just outside a gate at Beaver Stadium.
The 85-year-old Paterno has been in the hospital since Jan. 13 for observation for what his family had called minor complications from his cancer treatments. Not long before that, he conducted his only interview since losing his job, with The Washington Post. Paterno was described as frail then and wearing a wig. The second half of the two-day interview was conducted by his bedside.
The final days of Paterno's Penn State career were easily the toughest in his 61 years with the university and 46 seasons as head football coach.
Sandusky, a longtime defensive coordinator who was on Paterno's staff in two national title seasons, was arrested Nov. 5 and ultimately charged with sexually abusing a total of 10 boys over 15 years. His arrest sparked outrage not just locally but across the nation and there were widespread calls for Paterno to quit.
Paterno announced late on Nov. 9 that he would retire at the end of the season but just hours later he received a call from board vice chairman John Surma, telling him he had been terminated as coach. By that point, a crowd of students and media were outside the Paterno home. When news spread that Paterno had been dumped, there was rioting in State College.
Police on Saturday night had barricaded off the block where Paterno lives, and a police car was stationed about 50 yards from his home. A light was on in the living room but there was no activity inside. No one was outside, other than reporters and photographers stationed there.
Trustees said this week they pushed Paterno out in part because he failed a moral responsibility to report an allegation made in 2002 against Sandusky to authorities outside the university. They also felt he had challenged their authority and that, as a practical matter, with all the media in town and attention to the Sandusky case, he could no longer run the team.
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