PSU trustees tell their side of story surrounding Paterno's firing

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. --

Months after Joe Paterno was fired as head coach for Penn State University's football team, the New York Times is offering a glimpse as to how the decision was reached.

Some members of the Penn State Board of Trustees discussed in detail to the newspaper not only why they fired Paterno, but why they fired him over the phone -- a move that even some trustees admit was their biggest regret.

Paterno was fired soon after former assistant head coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested and charged with sex abuse crimes against children.

The article details the days following up to the decision to fire a man who spend 46 years as the team's head coach. Trustees said they felt "blindsided" by President Graham Spanier for not informing them of what was really going on.

The trustees said, prior to Sandusky's Nov. 5 arrest, Spanier never informed them about the testimony given by Paterno, Athletic Director Tim Curley, Gary Schultz and Spanier before a grand jury in spring 2011. The men testified before the grand jury about a 2002 report that Sandusky alleged molested a young boy in a shower on Penn State's campus.

With regard to the lack of information Spanier was providing to them, trustees said it seemed as though the president didn't recognize the severity of the situation. At one point, trustees wanted to issue a news release about what was happening, but accused Spanier of altering it before it was released and diluting the strong promise of investigating the scandal.

Trustees ultimately decided to fire Spanier and knew they wanted to fire Paterno, but they weren't sure how to do it. They said Paterno failed to do more about the suspected 2002 sex assault tan felt he wouldn't be able to "effectively" continue to coach with questions surrounding the program. They said they didn't want to go to Paterno's home because of the media frenzy and weren't sure if Paterno himself would meet with them.

When they decided to call him, trustees said, "The board of trustees has determined effective immediately that you are no longer the football coach." They said Paterno hung up immediately. Moments later, Paterno's wife called trustees back and said, "After 61 years, he deserved better."

Some trustees further stated they were upset when they heard Paterno was leading cheers of "We are Penn State" from his lawn with students after Sandusky's arrest, and said they felt that was insensitive.

According to the New York Times' article, the board of trustees decided to come forward with their story of how the events unfolded because they were tired of hearing criticism.

On Friday, the trustees will meet for the first time since Paterno was fired, and a crowd of media and alumni are expected to be on hand.

Among the items on the agenda are electing new leadership for the coming year. A group of alumni known as Penn Staters For Responsible Stewardship will also be on hand to voice its displeasure the handling of the Sandusky scandal. As of Thursday, 20 people have announced their intentions to seek three open seats on the board during spring elections.

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