Coach Joe Paterno in serious condition
The health of former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, who was fired last November in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal involving an assistant coach, has deteriorated and his status is serious, a family spokesman said on Saturday.
“Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications. His doctors have now characterized his status as serious” – a statement said.
The Paterno family said it would have no further comment on the situation and asked that their privacy be respected “during this difficult time.”
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.
Joe Paterno.
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 November 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.
Paterno, who won two national championships and a Division I-record 409 games in his 46 seasons as Penn State’s head coach, was hospitalized most recently on January 13, just hours after granting an interview to a Washington Post reporter in his State College home, his first and only interview since the Sandusky scandal broke.
Sitting up in his bed with a blanket over his legs, and speaking in a hoarse whisper, Paterno seemed fully aware of his impending mortality, saying – “I’m worried about my kids, my family. They’re concerned about me, so I’m concerned about them.” Family members also understood that his health was slipping rapidly.
In that same interview, conducted over two days at the Paterno home, he acknowledged not knowing how to react when graduate assistant Michael McQueary approached him in 2002 with an account of Sandusky having inappropriate sexual contact with a boy in the Penn State locker room.
“I didn’t know exactly how to handle it” – Paterno said. “I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way.”
Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, who has been treated for lung cancer and a broken pelvis, is in serious condition, a family spokesman said Saturday, rejecting reports the football legend had died.
The family was upset about the reports, a source close to them said. Relatives said Paterno (85) was able to communicate Saturday night.
“I appreciate the support & prayers” – the coach’s son, Jay, said in a tweet. “Joe is continuing to fight.”
Jay and his brother, Scott, sent tweets saying a report their father had died were “wrong.”
At least one of the websites reporting Paterno had died apologized for the error.
Devon Edwards, managing editor of Onward State, which says it is a student-run media organization, wrote on its Facebook page – “To the Penn State community and to the Paterno family most of all, I could not be more sorry for the emotional anguish I am sure we caused. There are no excuses for what we did. We all make mistakes, but it’s impossible to brush off one of this magnitude.” Edwards wrote he was stepping down.
Paterno is being treated at Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College, Pennsylvania, where members of the media were told to leave.
“Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications. His doctors have now characterized his status as serious” – family spokesman Dan McGinn said. “His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”
The coach was fired in November amid the outcry over the handling of accusations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who faces more than 50 counts involving sexual acts with 10 boys since 1994. Sandusky has pleaded not guilty.
The family previously said Paterno had a treatable form of cancer. In December, he was admitted to a hospital after fracturing his pelvis when he slipped and fell at his home in State College.
Well-wishers turned to social media sites Saturday evening.
“Sending my prayers to Joe and his family! Love you with all my Nittany heart!” one Facebook commenter said.