Penn State to Paterno: You Gotta Go, Joe. Tell Patch What You Think

The Penn State Board of Trustees fired Head Football Coach Joe Paterno and University President Graham Spanier Wednesday night in the wake of a child sex abuse scandal. Neither man is implicated or accused of misconduct involving the children who were alleged to have been sexually abused by former Penn State Defensive Coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

It is what else Paterno did not do that has cost him his job. Paterno reported the allegations of sex abuse to his boss at the university as required by school policy. He did not report the allegations to law enforcement and that is why he was summarily fired Wednesday night.  Paterno announced earlier in the day Wednesday that he would retire after this season.

The Penn State Board of Directors clearly wanted to send a stronger message and announced Wednesday night that Paterno and Spanier were no longer University employees, effective immediately.

The announcement sparked student riots on the streets of State College, where a news van from WTAJ-TV was overturned by cheering students.

Meanwhile Paterno addressed a crowd of supporters who had gathered at his home thanking them for their support and encouraging them to say a prayer for the boys who were allegedly assaulted by Sandusky. Sandusky denies the allegations.

See more video and read more about this story on the Huffington Post.

To see more on the story from the Penn State student perspective click here to read coverage on the Daily Collegian (the campus newspaper) website.