joe paterno. i think you're spot on on that. he had some friendly media there tonight going after the board of trustees, the gentleman who was holding the press conference, explaining the untenable position the university's in. >> if he had an ounce of self-awareness -- 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. 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 go

joe paterno. i think you're spot on on that. he had some friendly media there tonight going after the board of trustees, the gentleman who was holding the press conference, explaining the untenable position the university's in. >> if he had an ounce of self-awareness -- 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. 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 go

so he tells coach paterno and coach paterno tells his smear subpoena peer yors but subpoena peer yors and that's what we're talking about as we listen to the chants from the students. >> list listen to the site and take in the scenes. ♪ >> okay. now they are chanting about jerry sandusky. again, he is the assistant coach at the eye of this storm, facing seven counts of deviat involuntary sexual intercourse with eight potential victims over a 15-year period. he is the one that this is all about, the investigation is all about, did joe paterno do enough and that's the question and debate all along. here on the campus they thought he should have done more. >> did you say that there were -- one of the challenges now was about sandusky? >>. >> yes, i couldn't make it out. obviously he is the villain here in all of this. and the beloved joe paterno's out because of the actions or alleged actions of jerry sandusky. >> it was brought up in the press conference as to whether there would be some kind of backlash there on the campus to the board of trustees' decision. you've been there. you've b

what's next for the paterno family? >> joe paterno really needs to concentrate right now on his health. and in talking to jay and to others close with the family, they say the plan will be for joe to begin radiation this week most likely. >> absolutely. tom rinaldi in columbus for the penn state/ohio state game tomorrow, thanks very much for joining us. >>> and we will continue to follow the penn state story. but just ahead, well, it's the color of desire and it's painted on every louboutin heel. we step into a footwear fantasy land. i'd race down that hill without a helmet. i took some steep risks in my teens. i'd never ride without one now. and since my doctor prescribed lipitor, i won't go without it for my high cholesterol and my risk of heart attack. why kid myself? diet and exercise weren't lowering my cholesterol enough. now i'm eating healthier, exercising more, taking lipitor. numbers don't lie. my cholesterol's stayed down. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who h

paterno retire at age 84. joe paterno decides what joe paterno does.erno was informed back in 2002 coach sandusky was seen having sex with a young boy. but paterno said the minimum required by law. paterno cancelled a press conference on tuesday due to the ongoing legal case but we caught up with him. >> you guys got a lot of good questions and i would like to answer them but i can't now. i'm sorry. oil have another one soon. >> patterno is beloved. for 46 years of teaching his players about life as well as football. >> i think you've got a tremendous impact on a kid. you're not teaching them facts you're teaching them things about character, teaching them thing about success, teaching them what it takes to get along with other people. >> patterno is known for running a clean program. you don't hear about paying players or falsifying s.a.t. scores. but now his reputation may be harmed. s.a..com columnist writes. we don't know who is legally guilty but several prominent employees at the state university are morally guilty and one of them is joe paterno.

the next day mcqueary told joe paterno.l officials curley and schultz. later the same month penn state president graham spanier approved of the minor action taken against jerry sandusky. but there is no evidence any of these people tried to identify the 10-year-old boy. there was apparently no attempt to contact him, get his side of the story, see if he needed medical attention. the graduate assistant, mike mcqueary-s now an assistant football coach at penn state who was hired in 2003. joining me now is former district attorney of lawrence county, pennsylvania, matthew mangino. mr. mangino, good to have you with us tonight. >> thanks for having me. >> when the now assistant football coach mcqueary witnessed this, he was 28 years old at the time. and in cases of rape or activity such as this, is it legally acceptable to witness and not report it directly to police? >> well, there's really no legal obligation for just the average citizen to report a crime that they may have witnessed. in this particular situation because he w

did paterno do enough legally? us, mike. >> ed, there are certain statutory laws that require people in certain positions, that they have to go directly to the police. for example, you'll see statutes that say teachers or -- schoolteachers or doctors or nurses, once they learn about sexua sexual abuse incident, they're required to go directly to the police. then it gets a little fuzzy beyond that. because at some point, the requirement is that the person has to report to the person up on the chain of command, and it's expected that person has to report to police. a supervisor, for example, may have this responsibility to say, joe told me that and i have to go do something about it. look, here paterno was clearly told that sandusky was -- he was raping a 10-year-old boy in a locker room shower. there's no other way to put it. the person who reported it, ed, went to joe paterno's house and told him that. and then joe paterno says, well, look, i did what i was supposed to do. i reported it to the athletic director. an

spannier also backed paterno. paterno told curly about it. may have satisfied joe pa's legal obligation by what about his moral duty? >> it as case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them in a culture that did nothing to stop it or prevent it from happening to others. >> paterno had not been charged with any crime but the scandal was in gulfing him and his football program. the next day, the 84-year-old coach issued a statement saying "with the benefit of hindsight i wish i had done more." then he announced he would retire at the end of the season. the board of trustees he wrote should not spend a single minute discussing my status. i want to make this as easy for them as i possibly can. the trustees apparently didn't think paterno was doing them any favors. hours later at an emergency wednesday night meeting, they summarily fired university president spannier and a then paterno. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> paterno the winningest coach in football history, would miss his f

paterno is out. university president is out. now a federal investigation begins. police in riot gear moved in after thousands of outraged penn state students took to the streets. they packed downtown state college wednesday night to show their support for ousted coaching legend joe paterno. students shook lamp posts and toppled over this news van after the university trustee board made its shocking announcement. >> dr. spanier is no longer president of the university. in addition, joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> reporter: officials fired paterno and university president graham spanier over their handling of child sex you'll abuse allegations against former defensive coordinator jerry sandusky. after the announcement paterno released a statement saying, i am disappointed with the board of trustees' decision but have i to accept it. a tragedy occurred and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed. there's now a federal investigation into the scandal. the department of education is looking into whether sc

talking about joe he paterno and just straight up chanting joe paterno's name. i mean, every student i've talked to today once again they are in support of him staying on as coach. i don't think any of these students thought this would happen this day, that joe paterno, their beloved and legendary coach, would no longer be the head man for the lions at penn state. >> any signs of college officials or give us some insight into that. >> reporter: nothing that i've seen. the social media was really buzzing right before that press conference, urging people, stay calm. maybe some folks have an inkling that the announcedmement was coming. but we have not seen a strong presence. i'm sure they are out there. we can hear sirens as they are coming. they are headed to beaver avenue where everybody is assembling. >> jason, you have been on the story since the beginning. as we see people out and making their feelings known, you have to wonder what the culture of the school is like. you've spoken to people. what kind of a scene is this? what is the culture like? >> well, what

why didn't paterno -- let me ask you, is it in joe paterno's personality to go confront sandusky with this information? what do you think of that? >> this was a university problem. joe respected tim curley and schultz. >> okay. then that's -- >> he went to them thinking they would do their job, and they didn't do their job and everybody's now blaming joe. that's what i don't understand. >> franco harris, great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. let's turn to sports comment at a timer and writer john fine steen, author of the upcoming book "one on on one." i find it hard to believe that a former player would go to joe paterno and say, this is what i saw. number one, he passed it on to the a.d. and another administrator and didn't report it to the police. as a journalist, what's the next move? >> i think you're 100% right. ij when mike mcqueary went to joe paterno's house at that day, he should have made two phone calls, one to graham spainer and the second to the police. having said that, if you want to say it was okay to call tim curley the athletic director and put

many supporting joe paterno, wished he had done more through the child sex abuse scandal but joe paterno out. also, the president, graham spannier out as well. you get back to joe paterno. he's been on the job since 1966. winningest coach in college football history, two national championships, built a squeaky clean program. joe paterno is penn state but now is no longer the head football coach at this university. but this story and why there's such emotion is because it is bigger than a football story. you wonder what is going on with those eight alleged victims, children, within they were allegedly abused as young as 8 years old by former assistant coach, defensive coordinator, jerry sandusky, the true villain in all of this, but because of those actions and inactions from the people really in power who could have done something, joe paterno out as head coach at penn state. back to you. >> coach paterno reported a 2002 incident to the his boss. the firing of joe pa was a shock to many students. >> they're going after the wrong guy. >> it's ridiculous that he got fired over this situati

spannier also backed paterno. paterno told curly about it. may have satisfied joe pa's legal obligation by what about his moral duty? >> it as case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them in a culture that did nothing to stop it or prevent it from happening to others. >> paterno had not been charged with any crime but the scandal was in gulfing him and his football program. the next day, the 84-year-old coach issued a statement saying "with the benefit of hindsight i wish i had done more." then he announced he would retire at the end of the season. the board of trustees he wrote should not spend a single minute discussing my status. i want to make this as easy for them as i possibly can. the trustees apparently didn't think paterno was doing them any favors. hours later at an emergency wednesday night meeting, they summarily fired university president spannier and a then paterno. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> paterno the winningest coach in football history, would miss his f

he reported it to joe paterno. didn't call police. he is still employed as a coach by penn state and a lot of people are wondering why if joe paterno failed a moral test by not calling police, didn't mcqueary fail as wul? >> absolutely. mike mcqueary's actions in that shower are appalling. to do the decent thing would be to help the young boy. you have to wonder what's happened to that young boy's life. why did mike mcqueary not take him out of that situation? why did he not protect him. i know he was stunned and probably shocked to see jerry sandusky in this act, but my gosh, anderson, you have to protect the young child. you have to take him out. we don't know who the child is. we don't know if he is alived. we don't know if he has been scarred for life. there's clearly a tremendous amount of vilify case of mike mcqueary. >> questions i would like to have answered and i don't know if you have thoughts on this, but he went to work for this the program. if you have witnessed something like that and you have reported it, you would thin

talking about joe he paterno and just straight up chanting joe paterno's name. i mean, every student i've talked to today once again they are in support of him staying on as coach. i don't think any of these students thought this would happen this day, that joe paterno, their beloved and legendary coach, would no longer be the head man for the lions at penn state. >> any signs of college officials or give us some insight into that. >> reporter: nothing that i've seen. the social media was really buzzing right before that press conference, urging people, stay calm. maybe some folks have an inkling that the announcement was coming. but we have not seen a strong presence. i'm sure they are out there. we can hear sirens as they are coming. they are headed to beaver avenue where everybody is assembling. >> jason, you have been on the story since the beginning. as we see people out and making their feelings known, you have to wonder what the culture of the school is like. you've spoken to people. what kind of a scene is this? what is the culture like? >> well, what yo

spannier also backed paterno. paterno told curly about it. have satisfied joe pa's legal obligation by what about his moral duty? >> it as case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them in a culture that did nothing to stop it or prevent it from happening to others. >> paterno had not been charged with any crime but the scandal was in gulfing him and his football program. the next day, the 84-year-old coach issued a statement saying "with the benefit of hindsight i wish i had done more." then he announced he would retire at the end of the season. the board of trustees he wrote should not spend a single minute discussing my status. i want to make this as easy for them as i possibly can. the trustees apparently didn't think paterno was doing them any favors. hours later at an emergency wednesday night meeting, they summarily fired university president spannier and a then paterno. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. >> paterno the winningest coach in football history, would miss his final

home -- >> joe paterno!> reporter: they moved onto the campus. you think he lived up to his own code of ethics? >> we're going to have to live with that. >> reporter: as they sang, members of the penn state board of trustees were meeting to discuss the fate of joe paterno. abc news has learned a decision about whether paterno will get to keep his job could be made in the next 24 to 48 hours. for "nightline," this is dan harris in state college, pennsylvania. >> our thanks to dan for that. >>> and just ahead, it was election night. we have some results for you. and also truth and lies on the campaign trail. her can main's fiery comeback in the face of harassment accusations. [ female announcer ] investing for yourself is a necessity. i find investments with e-trade's top 5 lists and use pre-defined screeners to work smarter. not harder. i depend on myself to take charge of my financial future. [ bell dinging ] >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> americans voted today and

and joe paterno, nobody did anything about it, and joe paterno, the most powerful man on campus, the most powerful man in town didn't follow up on it, didn't do anything about it. neither did the athletic director. neither did the vice president of the school, neither did the president of the school and they are all without jobs now and that's the way it should be. >> and stand by for us. mike, if i can go back to you and to the live pictures, what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: right now we saw fireworks being shot off. again, they are heading to an area -- i talked to a couple of students. basically, they are going to rally and chant. that will continue. they're going to have their voices heard. we saw a few fireworks. it's a few blocks away from where we are now. we are going to head to that area in a moment. but that's what we can tell you at this point. >> what about the point andy staple just made, that his view, some of these kids are out there, it's not just about joe paterno. it's about being young and full of adrenaline and wanting to be on tv? the students you've s

many considered him the heir apparent to joe paterno. sandusky walked away from it all at the age of 55 when most coaches are in their prime. never to coach college football again. the question is why? was penn state trying to move him out of their program because they knew of the allegations against sandusky. for his part, sandusky said he stepped down to focus on his charity, the second mile. he went on to volunteer as a high school football coach. still it was clear, he had coveted joe paterno's job. i wouldn't call it devastating, sandusky told "sports illustrated" that was definitely a goal of mine when i started. the grand jury report paints a similar picture. in it victim number four who had t been at the stands at the alamo bowl and said that sandusky tried to rape him described sandusky emotionally upset after meeting with joe paterno and told he would not be the next head coach at penn state. victim number four said that occurred in 199 before sandusky announced his retirement. by then officials were made aware of disturbing al

we're following the firing of joe paterno. he's more with on the mood on the campus and they look at this from the point of view of a former sex abuse victim. start with the facts here. paul wagner, what are the students saying tonight? >> reporter: brian, it's calm here in state college tonight. i don't see a show of force of police out here, although last night on college avenue was a much different scene. there was riot police out here and these streets were filled with angry students. let's show you video that was shot from last night. after the board of trustees announced joe paterno wouldn't be finishing the season as coach of the penn state nittany lions, the students took to the streets to protest. some rocks and bottles were thrown, light poles were thrown down and a tv news truck was vandalized and overturned. police have said nothing about arrests or pending arrests. police in riot gear use pepper the crowd. in state college today, students overwhelmingly supported the coach. >> i think it's a huge disappointment an

penn state used paterno for fund-raising.e was a big draw to bring in a lot of money to the university. sponsorship deals. they could take a hit, as well. companies may not want to be associated with penn. it could also affect their ability to recruit top players. this is really important because penn state is one of the most lucrative teams in the country. this team brings in $15 million a year, second in the country behind the university of texas. but, of course, kyra, i have to say this. nothing compares to the damage to the alleged victims. kyra? >> indeed. wall street expecting a bit of a rebound from yesterday, right? >> yes. and you know what, a rebound is pretty typical after a huge selloff that we saw yesterday. but it doesn't mean it's going to stick. however, we are hearing that there's talk of an emergency meeting that the european central bank could be holding, but so far it's just a rumor. you know what, europe is still a mess, although you're going to see a lot of bargain hunters out once the bell rings in abou

the graduate assistant told joe paterno what he'd seen but according to paterno left out the specific details. paterno said he notified tim curley, and a week and a half later the grad assistant today his story to tim curley and schultz who oversaw campus police. despite that, the grand jury found no one ever notified campus police. never sought information on the 1998 allegations. what they did do is bar jerry sandusky from bringing any more kids from his second mile program into the football building. schultz also told the grand jury his memory was hazy about what the graduate assistant told the two of them. they both deny they were told it was sodomy. the grand jury finds that portions of the testimony of tim can you recally were not credible. mike mcqueary is the receivers coach. the grand jury found his account highly credible. it found that what mcqueary witnessed should have been reported to law enforcement and child welfare if not by mcqueary or gary schultz or joe paterno. there's breaking news from his attorney. jason carroll spoke with him. what are you hearing? >> reporter

four minutes past the hour now. >>> here's what scott paterno, son of joe paterno, is saying now on his father's behalf. this statement late yet. it said, "like everyone who has watched this story unfold my father is experiencing a range of powerful emotions. he is absolutely distraught over what happened to the children and their families. he want to speak publicly at this stage, however, he has no choice but to be patient, and defer to the legal process." scott paterno continued his father will cooperate to the grand jury investigation and has an attorney. the psychologist who is treating one alleged victim spoke about his client's state of mind. listen to this. >> obviously, the individual that sustained this kinds of abuse, they typically suffer from anxiety, depression. there are a lot of concerns. it's very humiliating to have to not only experience this but then to, you know, have to discuss it with law enforcement. it's difficult, then, to be fearful or live in fear that others may determine who you are. and they may or may not approach you about it. again, very awkward, very em

and they've focused on joe paterno, went after joe paterno, rather than putting the focus on the kids. let me go back just for a second here about the board. when they mentioned that the board had leadership, it doesn't really meet my definition of leadership. everyone knows that in business and in politics, that when a crisis happens, you know, they do program 101, like to me, it's nothing that showed leadership or anything bold. that is that you just get rid of everybody. and you don't -- it doesn't matter about what is true and not true or anything like that. what you do is just cut everything, and that's what i mean when i said the board didn't show leadership or guts. they just did 101 and i'm disturbed about that. i also want to say, i talk about the rioting at penn state. i heard there was only a couple dozen out of over 2,000. >> chris: all right. we're going to have to leave it there. thank you both so much. thanks for joining us today. obviously we're going to follow the events there at penn state. >>> next, the congressional super committee remains deadlocked over cutting t

. >> i think it's really saying, joe paterno's a figure. and that overshadows the issues going on involving sandusky. >> sandusky is the man who did all this. it's not the full-on blame on joepa. >> reporter: paterno earlier said he wanted to retire, on his own terms, at the end of the season. but university trustees made clear that was not going to happen. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach, effective immediately. >> reporter: as soon as university trustees made that decision, that's when the students came pouring into the streets here downtown, in protest. many carrying signs saying, we love joepa. he was a beloved figure here on this campus for more than six decades. and many students said it was unfair that he simply received a phone call telling him that career was coming to an end. in a statement, joe paterno said he's disappointed with the board of trustees' decision. but he will comply with it. for the first time, when the nittany lions play nebraska, he will not be on the sideline. >> that game saturday, will be th

so paterno and mcqueary.en they tell paterno and shoults they have met their obligations under the letter of the law. >> laura: let's go to you on this because to me i think about this and i think legally, you always have this scenario where failure to report, kind of difficult to enforce and who directly is the official covered under this statute? who is the official directly covered? why isn't it the 28-year-old who walks in there? he is out there you know, on the sidelines this weekend. why isn't it his obligation? >> i can't answer everything. i do know a strong argument can still be made that joe did not give an honest reporting. it depends on what he said. the statute requires an honest reporting. if he either minimized or disingenuous in what he was told and then conveyed. then he he would still, i think, arguably has some issues. ultimately i think the right decision was made criminally. you could still make the argument. >> yeah. they are not going to file criminal charges. >> they are not. no. >> wh

joe paterno is out. he will not be on the sidelines saturday for the final time for the final game this year. it will be the first time in 46 years he is not there. >>> the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers -- moving you forward. >>> the penn state board of trustees met tonight and joe paterno has been fired. he has handed in his resignation earlier today effective immediately after the season, and now that will not be accepted. he was fired tonight by the board of trustees. students responded, showing their support. joe paterno had handed in his resignation, but the board did not want to wait. the board said it was in the best interest of the university. after 46 years of being the penn state head coach, he was not notified in the head person and said the board of trustees made a phone call. the winningest coach in college football history has been fired tonight. >> joe paterno is no longer the head football coach effective immediately. these decisions were made after caref

now, the conflict is what he told paterno and what paterno told the authorities. there is no conflict according to the grand jury, though, that he actually saw a 10-year-old physically being raped and went home and called his dad, am i right? >> first of all, he didn't know how would the boy was. he said he appeared that the -- that the boy appeared to be 10 years old, but yes, what he's testified to is he saw what appeared to be a sexual assault going on in there. what coach paterno has said is he wasn't given that details of information, that level of details, and there we get into the question of what he knew or what he believed he was being told. i don't think we have those answers yet. >> let me ask you this, john. he said he saw it in the grand jury paterno said he wasn't told that detail. let me go back to you, mr. fallon. why would somebody go home, tell their daddy, and they should not tell the horrific thing he saw when they went to paterno the next day. that doesn't pass the smell test to me. >> it's pretty smelly here, too. i can tell you why someone w

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he goes to his boss, paterno. he says this is it. paterno goes around and goes to his boss.w -- you know, we know about this. at that point that is where they failed. that's where they fall down on the job. see, as a graduate assistant, he is not in that power authority position. but he is notifying the people who are and saying this is occurring and occurring on our camp campus. that's where they fell down. they didn't further that complain. >> i heard some -- the students on a news program saying well, you know, between don't know what joe paterno knew and he hasn't -- you know, we haven't heard the full story. we haven't. but i do think it is very telling in that joe paterno himself said my only failing, only thing i wish in hindsight is that i had done more. >> right. >> i had done more. that's very telling. >> it is a tacit admission. one of the things i find startling part of the penn state alma mater maybe do nothing to bring shame upon this institution. come on. every single one of those guys fell down on the job when it comes to that sfw we have to run. thank you ve