Paterno Press Release

Christine Eisnor                                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

christine.eisnor@snhu.edu

PATERNO DEAD AT AGE 85

"Losing a game is heart breaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is tragic." 

- Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno passed away on January 22, 2012 in State College, Pennsylvania surrounded by family and close friends. Paterno had been diagnosed with lung cancer and was undergoing treatment at the time of his death. His private funeral on January 25th was attended by hundreds. Countless more people waited on the street to witness the caravan of vehicles that brought Paterno to his place of burial. 

Early reports that Paterno had passed away were proven false. The Paterno family soon issued a corrected statement to let the public know that Paterno was still living, although he was in declining health. Unfortunately, very soon after the initial false reports were leaked, it was learned that Paterno had in fact passed away. 

Joe Paterno had been the head football coach at Penn State since 1966 and had worked in similar capacity as a coach at the University since 1950. He was inducted in the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Many would agree that Paterno was a college football legend in his own right. 

The end of Paterno's career at Penn State was sullied by controversy when allegations of sexual abuse by another football coach rocked the campus. Paterno had petitioned to retire from his position at the end of the 2011 season. The administration at Penn State chose instead to fire Paterno and ultimately ended his illustrious career in scandal and shame. 

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REFERENCES

Joe Paterno. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia online. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Paterno

Joe Paterno quotes. (2014). Brainy quote. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/joe_paterno.html

McCarthy, M. (2012, January 22). Media dead wrong to repeat false report of Paterno's death. USA TODAY. Retrieved from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/01/media-outlets-dead-wrong-to-jump-the-gun-on-paternos-death-joe-paterno-poynter-cbssportscom/1