By CHASE GARDNER
Let it be known, that on Nov. 9, 2011, the Board of Trustees at Penn State made the biggest mistake ever.
The mistake being the firing of legendary head coach Joe Paterno. Paterno’s firing is the result of the sex abuse scandal with Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky opened a charity for wayward children in the early 1990s, which he is suspected to of had sexual contact with several young boys.
Subsequently, Penn State students rioted after hearing the news that Paterno is no more, they filled the streets and campus chanting “We want Joe back!” at one point even flipping a news van.
The destruction of the news van was meant to send a message to the media who scrutinized Paterno for not doing more, even though he met his legal obligations.
Students blanketed the area, jumped on cars, and threw toilet paper and rocks when police met them to break up the crowd with tear gas and mace. A student wearing a gas mask even charged at an officer and sprayed him with mace in retaliation.
As angry as these students may be, and they have a good reason to be, destruction of property and assaulting officers is unacceptable. This isn’t what the Joe Pa would want.
While the vandalism cannot be tolerated, it is justifiable. Paterno is the best thing that has ever happened to Penn State football. With over 45 years of coaching under his belt, he reached 409 wins, a NCAA coaching record.
The board makes Paterno look like a scapegoat in this situation, thinking that if they fire an innocent man, it will clear their name and reputation. In actuality, it smears their name because they are firing an innocent man who fulfilled his duties in the situation.
One thing is for sure, the Nittany Lion football team will pay dearly, after the firing of Paterno, The Nittany Lions went on to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers and lost 17-14, bringing there record to 8-2. Things will not get easier as the still coachless Nittany Lions go up against the Wisconsin Badgers, and a loss to them will cost them their number one spot in the Big Ten.