Joe Paterno Press Conference Canceled by Penn State President

The saga of the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal continues today as Penn State University has canceled the traditional Tuesday media press conference for head coach Joe Paterno.

The 12:30 p.m. press conference was supposed to be about the team’s upcoming game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, but the indictment of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on child sex charges and the charges of perjury against athletic director Tim Curry and vice president Gary Schultz have steered the topic in a different direction.

While in classic Joe Paterno fashion he doesn’t want to hide anything about what he did or how he acted, the school has felt it necessary to cancel the press conference.

The Patriot-News is reporting about the cancellation:

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Penn State football coach Joe Paterno says he's disappointed university President Graham Spanier has canceled the team's weekly press conference, without explanation, this morning. The press conference was supposed to begin in an hour, at 12:30 p.m., and Spanier canceled it without conferring with the coach, Paterno said.

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This move is strictly about public relations and the school trying to do damage control on what has become the biggest scandal in college football history.

Penn State had an idea that this story was going to blow up when they sent out a statement to the media about what should be talked about at the press conference and what was off limits.

PSU's Assistant Athletic Director/Communications Jeff Nelson sent the following to the media last night in preparation for Tuesday’s press conference:

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Media planning to attend Tuesday's Penn State Football weekly teleconference are advised that that primary focus of the teleconference is to answer questions related to Penn State's Senior Day game with Nebraska this Saturday. Head coach Joe Paterno and any Penn State Football student-athletes in attendance will be answering questions about the Nebraska game, Penn State's season thus far and other topics related to the current college football season.

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In a time and age of college’s getting in trouble for paying their athletes and trying to bring in recruits with illegal benefits, it takes a story like this to put it all into perspective.

Penn State University will address the issues, but it is unclear as to when that will actually take place.

Check back for more on NCAA football as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s College Football Page to get your fill of college football.

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