Penn State's board of trustees and top-officials were ripped by Nike founder Phil Knight Thursday, and on a national level the school is losing support for their decision to fire Joe Paterno last November. The Seton Hall Sports Poll says 42 percent of those who responded in a national poll support the decision by the board of trustees to fire Paterno in November.
That number is down from 55 percent in November. Of those who responded, 40 percent sad Paterno should have been allowed to retire at the end of the season, which he announced he would do prior to the board of trustees firing him. In November only 31 percent of those polled believed Paterno should be allowed the right to go out with retirement as planned.
Roughly 66 percent of those polled believe Paterno's legacy was tarnished. Only 18 percent thought his legacy was unblemished overall.
“While opinion has shifted on the manner of his departure, people are clear about his legacy being damaged,” noted Rick Gentile, director of the poll, which is conducted by the Sharkey Institute.
Paterno was fired days after being tied to the Jerry Sandusky scandal that continues to unfold in State College, Pennsylvania. Paterno's name appeared periodically in the grand jury testimony but he was never charged with any crimes and the attorney general's office said that Paterno was not a target of any investigation and that he had cooperated in their investigation. Paterno was soon diagnosed with lung cancer and ultimately lost his battle on January 22, when he passed away.
Kevin McGuire is a national college football writer for Examiner.com and the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. He can be reached at cfbexaminer@gmail.com.
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