Joe Paterno never was much of a gambler. During most of the 61 years he was associated with the Penn State football program, he did things by the book. The Good Book, much of the time. But always the rules book.
So it seemed both out of character and lacking in character for him to almost subliminally threaten the school’s board of trustees on Wednesday morning concerning his retirement.
Said Paterno with an unusual degree of hubris given the fragility of his employment at that moment: “That’s why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.”
He made it easy, all right. He made sure he would be the first matter the PSU board addressed during a Wednesday night meeting to decide how to handle the 40 charges of sexual molestation of kids aimed at former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Already troubled that Paterno had not gone to the police when he first learned of Sandusky’s reprehensible behavior in 2002, the board did the only thing it could do when Joe Pa attempted to back it into a corner.