Scandal shakes Penn State
ED SCHULTZ, HOST: Good evening, Americans. And welcome to a special edition of THE ED SHOW tonight here on MSNBC . Not on your life would you ever think it would end this way for this man. Penn State University caught somewhere between the unthinkable and the unreal. A zone the university could not afford to be in. Tonight, the board of trustees voted unanimously to fire long-time football coach, Joe Paterno . You didn't have to be a college football fan to know this man. His respect was legendary, no coach had won more games. Fewer coaches will ever garnish his reputation. And in a few moments, by a unanimous vote tonight, all of that changed. Legendary head football coach Joe Paterno has been fired by Penn State University . As a broadcaster, it's almost hard to say. Joe Paterno will not coach another football game at Penn State amid allegations he did not do enough to stop the alleged sexual abuse of boys by a former assistant football coach. Here is part of the news conference held by the Penn State board of trustees just an hour ago.
JOHN P. SURMA, VICE CHAIR, PENN STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Our view was -- a larger view of what was necessary to move the university in the right direction. The specific aspects of these terrible activities that occurred and the terrible damage that was done really remains to be established by whatever law enforcement investigations are yet underway, as well as the investigation by our own board of trustees .
SCHULTZ: Top Penn State university officials are accused of failing to properly address decades of child sexual abuse allegations. The emergency meeting tonight by the Penn State board of trustees tried to get a handle on a scandal growing by the day. Legendary football coach Joe Paterno tried to avoid being fired by announcing his retirement earlier today, effective at the end of the season. The board of trustees decided Paterno had to go now. The " Associated Press " reports, after the decision for Paterno addressed students at his house and said, "Right now, I'm not the football coach, and that's something I have to get used to." Former assistant football coach and defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky , was arrested Saturday on charges of sexually abusing eight young boys . A ninth accuser has also come forward. Penn State President Graham Spanier has also been fired. Let's bring in MSNBC analyst Eugene Robinson , associate editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist of " The Washington Post ." And also, Jason Whitlock , national columnist for foxsports.com. Gentlemen, thanks for your time tonight. I'm shocked. JASON WHITLOCK , FOXSPORTS.COM: Thank you.
SCHULTZ: I'm absolutely shocked, Eugene Robinson , that it's all unfolded so fast and devastating to the university . We should point out on campus right now, there are students who are gathering at the university . And many chants in support of Joe Paterno are being yelled out by the students as they continue to gather. But it just seems to me, as it was stated in this press conference tonight, that the university really had no choice.
EUGENE ROBINSON, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I don't think the university had a choice either. The allegations are so -- more than disturbing, they're just so shocking. You have -- this is a great state university that draws students from all around the world . It has not just a reputation to protect, but a standing to protect. An obligation, I think, to do something. To show that it's serious about addressing what seems to have happened there. And so, they made the decision . One got the sense listening to the press conference that Joe Paterno 's sort of preemptive move to say, "Well, I'll resign at the end of the season," didn't sit well with the board. You just got that sense -- the question was not asked or answered, but you got the sense that didn't sit well with the board.
SCHULTZ: Jason Whitlock , your reaction tonight as to the reaction and the decision of the board of trustees at Penn State ?
WHITLOCK: I think they made the absolute right decision , the only decision they had to make. What I'm really concerned about is what's transpiring on that campus right now with these kids. Joe Paterno whipped these kids into a frenzy, his statement today about staying until the end of the season, what he did last night. If he were really concerned about this university , he would have taken the decision out of the board of trustees ' hands and resigned effective immediately and told those kids on that campus , that's the right thing for me to do, given this situation. He, instead, chose a very selfish exit. And now, we don't know what these kids are going to do on this campus . If anybody gets hurt tonight, that's on Joe Paterno as well.
SCHULTZ: You agree with that, Gene ?
ROBINSON: You know? I do. And Joe Paterno , legendary figure, highly regarded in the sports world and in the nation. But he's 84 years old. He has held on to that job with the tenacity and bullheadedness that -- you know, the university has tried to edge him out in the past, and he has held on. So, it's not -- it shouldn't surprise us, I think, that he finds it so difficult to let go. That he couldn't resign immediately, wanted to stay until the end of the season, which was unreal. That wasn't going to happen.
SCHULTZ: As the story unfolds, I almost get a feeling like Joe Paterno didn't understand the severity of all of this. And slowly he came to grips -- so, you know, I'm going do have to step down as the head football coach . It wasn't me that did it, it was somebody that I know. It's almost as if he doesn't understand the gravity of it.
ROBINSON: Right. And as you said, Ed , the story was moving really fast. I mean, the board started meeting immediately. How could they not? As soon as this story just came out on Saturday. But it took Paterno a while, and maybe he gets it now.
SCHULTZ: I think it's clear that the board tonight acted to save the integrity and the honor and the credibility of the university . This is much bigger than any one coach, any one game, any one team. This is a very serious matter. And it's not going to go away any time soon. I agree with you, I'm shocked that Joe Paterno didn't understand the severity of it, and realized that he had to step away from this. But looking at it right now --
WHITLOCK: Well, I think --
SCHULTZ: Go ahead.
WHITLOCK: As a sportswriter, we are very quick to criticize athletes when they get caught up in their fame and get delusional about how important they are. And sometimes we forget, these coaches now are just as big a celebrity as the athlete, they make just as much money as the athletes, they have just as many groupies as the athletes and they get delusional as well.
SCHULTZ: We saw that at the press conference tonight. We saw that at the press conference tonight, Jason , those people that were answering the questions, they were in total disbelief that the university would actually fire Joe Paterno . I think you're spot on on that. I mean, he had some friendly media there tonight just going after the board of trustees , the gentleman who was holding the press conference, explaining the untenable position the university 's in.
WHITLOCK: If he had an ounce of self-awareness, and I'm just -- he's no different than the athletes, the young immature athletes, this guy is 84. If he had an ounce of self-awareness, he would have stepped aside immediately. Obviously, if he had any self-awareness, in 2002 he would have done the right thing. But now that it's out -- and keep in mind, this has been out -- this grand jury investigation has been written about in Pennsylvania for months. They knew this was coming. I believe everyone in Pennsylvania should be questioned about, what took so long for the grand jury report? It took three years, and it just happened to come out a week after Joe Paterno passes Eddie Robinson for the all time wins record. Were they also protecting Joe Pa and waiting to release the indictment until after he got to victory 409?
SCHULTZ: That's a great point. Well, you know, and here you have now, the question was Joe Paterno protecting one of his old coaches, defensive coordinator who helped him win a couple national championships , and the loyalty was just too thick and he couldn't bring himself to go on any further with this situation than what he had done, and that was passing it up the chain. But a lot of people Gene Robinson , say, that it was Joe Paterno who was at the top of the chain at Penn State .
ROBINSON: Look, he was the most important figure at Penn State . He's the most powerful man at Penn State , and there's no question of that. I did want to say a word about the other official who lost his job tonight -- Graham Spanier , president of Penn State , one of the longest serving and one of the highest paid college presidents in the country. His first reaction on Saturday after the charges came out was to vigorously defend the two officials who were charged with not reporting the crime. But he switched -- he saw how fast this was moving. And, in fact, he issued a very intelligent and I think gracious exit statement, saying this is definitely in the best interest of the university . They need new leadership to move on.
SCHULTZ: Joining me now via phone from the campus of Penn State University is NBC reporter Alison Kartevold . Alison , describe the scene there. What are you seeing and what are you hearing?
ALISON KARTEVOLD, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): There are over 1,000 students that have poured into the street off the campus and are protesting Joe Paterno 's firing by the board tonight. It was a unanimous decision by the board tonight. And they are chanting. Right now, they're doing the college chant. But earlier, they were chanting "one more game, one more game." They're obviously not ready to lose who they affectionately called Joe Pa , Ed.
SCHULTZ: I just don't think, Gene Robinson , that this is going to have any effect whatsoever, this is clearly an emotional reaction by students who may not have all the facts or may not have been following the story.
ROBINSON: Well, it's certainly not going to have an effect, it's clear. This is done.
SCHULTZ: Yes.
ROBINSON: It's a done deal. Now, as to what happens, if something happens in the street , this will probably just peter out. If it looks like it's going to last, the thing for Paterno to do would be to go out and calm them down.
SCHULTZ: Well, Alison , what is the demeanor of the crowd right now? I mean, are they agitated or is this some kind of a benign college rally?
KARTEVOLD: At this points, it's more of a benign college rally. Somebody's shooting off bottle rockets right now, I have to tell you, the chant I'm standing next to police cars in the middle of the street , and next to me are officers in riot gears. They're preparing for the worse, even though they hope students will keep it where they are right now. Right now, it's all chants, it's all cheers. They have their phones up in the air, taking pictures of everything. And at the time, there's no violence whatsoever. This is similar to what they did last night, but on a much larger scale. I cannot see down to the end of the street . I don't have any idea how far down the avenue it goes. This are is called the Canyon . This is the place where students come wherever they have an impromptu rally like this, be it over something good or bad.
And so, the police here are ready to try to make sure that things don't get out of hand. But the truth of the matter is, if it weren't for very quickly, I have few officers in view, I have a thousand students in my view.
SCHULTZ: Well, I wonder if the students are going to be calling for Joe Paterno to come out and address the crowd tonight. He's already made a statement saying he's no longer the head football coach of Penn State , and he's got to deal with that. But often times these kind of crowds can go bigger before they get smaller. And they see they get some attention, and they could end up going through the night.
KARTEVOLD: Ed , it's not done growing, as I'm standing looking down through the street , there's still a steady line of students who are pouring in from the campus . They're pouring in from the other end of Beaver Street . So the chant they've now taken up is "we want Joe. " They'll carry on with this, and move on to another one and can't go back through. Now, there's movement actually down the street a little bit, but still very peaceful at this point. They're not causing any trouble as far as -- they're being civil at this point to each other. Except for the trustees, they've had some nasty chants, things I can't repeat.
SCHULTZ: OK. All right, Alison Kartevold , NBC News reporter on scene there at Penn State University where students are gathering in protest and rallying in support of the just recently fired football coach Joe Paterno . The board of trustees making a decision tonight to move in a new direction, seeking new leadership at the university -- that was the term that was used by one of the board of trustees tonight. Joe Paterno out after 46 years as head coach at Penn State . Alison , Gene Robinson and Jason Whitlock , thanks for joining us tonight. I appreciate it. Coming up, more on the incredible fall of Joe Paterno and the sexual abuse scandal that has rocked Penn State University . Stephen A. Smith is coming up. So is B.J. Schechter of SportsIllustrated.com , and Mike Papantonio on the ongoing legal issues surrounding all of this. And later, Rick Perry makes an unbelievable gaffe at tonight's Republican debate. Will it end his campaign? What do his donors think at this point? Stay tuned. We're back.
