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Paterno responds to trustees' statement

Joe Paterno's son, Scott, says the firing of his father two months ago by the Penn State board of trustees "was not handled well" and that attacks on the university's football program and its academic record during his tenure were "unjustified."

Joe Paterno's son, Scott, says the firing of his father two months ago by the Penn State board of trustees "was not handled well" and that attacks on the university's football program and its academic record during his tenure were "unjustified."

Scott Paterno released a statement Thursday night in response to one issued earlier in the day by the board of trustees. The board said that because of "extraordinary circumstances," it decided "it was in the best interests of the university to make an immediate change" by terminating Joe Paterno as head football coach.

The board's statement followed the first meeting involving university president Rodney Erickson and Penn State alumni Wednesday night in Pittsburgh, during which Erickson and the board came under fire for the way the Paterno situation was handled. Erickson met with alumni Thursday night in King of Prussia where the same complaints were heard.

Paterno was fired on Nov. 9, four days after an indictment was returned charging former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky with sexually assaulting young boys. The board had not commented on terminating Paterno since the night it happened.

"As has become apparent, the termination . . . with no notice or hearing, was not handled well," Scott Paterno said in his statement. "Joe Paterno has reiterated from the beginning that the first priority in this crisis is to serve the best interest of the victims. He believes strongly that everyone involved is entitled to due process."

Despite the firing, Paterno said his father and his mother, Sue, "are unwavering in their loyalty and dedication to Penn State." Published reports said the couple has given $100,000 to the university since the coach's firing, split evenly between the Paterno Library and the Paterno Fellows program.

Scott Paterno said his father "also thinks that a wholesale attack on the football program and Penn state's academic record, as has happened in some quarters, is unjustified."

He also said that in reviewing the scandal, "The legitimate achievements of this university and the many good people who worked so hard to build it into a world-class institution should not be disrespected."

In its statement, the board said it considered Joe Paterno's announcement on the morning of Nov. 9 that he planned to retire at the end of his 46th season as head football coach.

But it said is also took into account a part of the grand jury report against Sandusky, that Paterno told his immediate supervisor, athletic director Tim Curley, of an alleged sexual attack in a shower at the Penn State football facility in 2002 as told to him by then-graduate assistant coach Mike McQueary. That part of the report sparked criticism that Paterno should have done more.

"The board's unanimous judgment was that Coach Paterno could not be expected to continue to effectively perform his duties, and that it was in the best interests of the university to make an immediate change in his status," the board's statement said. "Therefore, the board acted to remove Coach Paterno from his position as head football coach effective of that date."

The board said Paterno remains employed as a tenured faculty member and received his salary through the end of the 2011 season. It also said details of his retirement are still being worked out "and will be made public when they are finalized."