Ousted Corbett Now Says Paterno 'Probably' Shouldn't Have Been Fired

Gov. Tom Corbett, voted out of office on Tuesday, now says that Penn State’s Board of Trustees “probably shouldn’t have fired” Coach Joe Paterno.

Corbett on Thursday told The Philadelphia Inquirer that Paterno “probably” should have faced a suspension instead.

Corbett was on the Board of Trustees and was present via speaker phone at the Nov. 9, 2011, meeting when the Trustees made the decision to fire the longtime football coach, The New York Times said.

Paterno, who had already announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2011 season, was instead fired in a late-night phone call from the board.

Paterno was fired for failing to take action after allegedly being told that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had been seen molesting a 10-year-old boy.

Debates continue about what Paterno did and did not know about Sandusky’s crimes.

Paterno died in January 2012. Sandusky was convicted in June 2012 of 45 out of 48 counts of child sexual abuse, and is serving 30 to 60 years in state prison.

Corbett told the Inquirer that the decision to fire Paterno shifted attention away from Sandusky’s crimes, which is where he says the focus should have been.

Corbett was Pennsylvania’s attorney general when the investigation into Sandusky’s crimes began.

For Paterno’s family and fans, Corbett’s statements were seen as too little, too late.

“Trying to distance himself now is an insult to the intelligence of the army of educated Penn Staters who know better,” son Jay Paterno wrote in a Facebook post.

Should Joe Paterno have been fired? Is Tom Corbett trying to distance himself from the decision now, as Jay Paterno says? Let us know in the comments below.