Former Penn State coach was diagnosed last weekend. NCAA says it will look into scandal.
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 Joe Paterno on the sideline last month for a Penn State game against Northwestern. (Jim Prisching / Associated Press / 22) |
Associated Press
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.? Days after losing the job he held for nearly a half century, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer.
Scott Paterno, the Hall of Fame coach's son, said in a statement provided Friday to the Associated Press that his father's doctors are optimistic the 84-year-old Paterno will make a full recovery.
The news came shortly after Penn State said the NCAA would look into the school's handling of a child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees Nov. 9 for failing to do more after receiving an abuse allegation against Sandusky than report it to his superiors.
"Last weekend, my father was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness," Scott Paterno said in the brief statement.
The doctor's visit came the same weekend the school played its first game since the 1960s without Paterno leading the Nittany Lions. Penn State lost, 17-14, to Nebraska.
"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment," Scott Paterno said.
Earlier Friday, the Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre reported that Paterno had been seen Wednesday visiting the Mount Nittany Medical Center and was treated for an undisclosed ailment and released.
Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, now an ESPN analyst, said Paterno never mentioned the illness when he visited his former coach Thursday in State College.
"In a week or so of many surprises this was another one," said Blackledge, who noted that Paterno was in good spirits when he saw him. A Penn State spokesman in Columbus said Friday night that as far as he knew, Paterno was never a smoker.
To say his health problems added to Paterno's troubles during a rough period doesn't begin to capture the last two weeks. The lurid Sandusky scandal has tarnished the reputation of a coach and a football program that once prided itself on the slogan "Success with Honor."
Besides the ongoing criminal investigation of Sandusky, the university announced last week it was conducting its own probe before the NCAA said Friday that college sports' governing organization would do its own inquiry.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said in the letter to Penn State President Rod Erickson the probe will look at "Penn State's exercise of institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics programs."
That once was never a question with Paterno, regarded as college football's model for running a clean program.
Scott Paterno, the Hall of Fame coach's son, said in a statement provided Friday to the Associated Press that his father's doctors are optimistic the 84-year-old Paterno will make a full recovery.
The news came shortly after Penn State said the NCAA would look into the school's handling of a child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was fired by the board of trustees Nov. 9 for failing to do more after receiving an abuse allegation against Sandusky than report it to his superiors.
"Last weekend, my father was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer during a follow-up visit for a bronchial illness," Scott Paterno said in the brief statement.
The doctor's visit came the same weekend the school played its first game since the 1960s without Paterno leading the Nittany Lions. Penn State lost, 17-14, to Nebraska.
"As everyone can appreciate, this is a deeply personal matter for my parents, and we simply ask that his privacy be respected as he proceeds with treatment," Scott Paterno said.
Earlier Friday, the Citizens Voice of Wilkes-Barre reported that Paterno had been seen Wednesday visiting the Mount Nittany Medical Center and was treated for an undisclosed ailment and released.
Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge, now an ESPN analyst, said Paterno never mentioned the illness when he visited his former coach Thursday in State College.
"In a week or so of many surprises this was another one," said Blackledge, who noted that Paterno was in good spirits when he saw him. A Penn State spokesman in Columbus said Friday night that as far as he knew, Paterno was never a smoker.
To say his health problems added to Paterno's troubles during a rough period doesn't begin to capture the last two weeks. The lurid Sandusky scandal has tarnished the reputation of a coach and a football program that once prided itself on the slogan "Success with Honor."
Besides the ongoing criminal investigation of Sandusky, the university announced last week it was conducting its own probe before the NCAA said Friday that college sports' governing organization would do its own inquiry.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said in the letter to Penn State President Rod Erickson the probe will look at "Penn State's exercise of institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics programs."
That once was never a question with Paterno, regarded as college football's model for running a clean program.
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