Joe Paterno's Firing and Penn State Riots Cause Twitter Eruption

The Penn State riots for head coach Joe Paterno have added another dark chapter to an already sinister scandal that has hit this country hard over the last four days. 

Paterno's firing was not a shock, or at least it shouldn't have been, considering all that he is said to have known. However, there were gasps in the press room when the board of trustees announced that Paterno was being relieved of his duties. 

In addition to those gasps, Twitter became flooded with reaction and response to the firing and the subsequent rioting that took place. 

Stand-up comedian Daniel Tosh had one of the best responses that I have seen. It rings true and keeps in touch with his dry, sarcastic wit. 

Aaron Nagler, who is a sports fan and co-founder of Cheesehead TV, doesn't understand why there are students rioting. 

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof puts this whole thing in perspective.

We don't need to feel sympathy for Paterno or anyone else that is going to get fired for these allegations against Jerry Sandusky. We need to be concerned with the alleged victims in this case. 

Mike Andrick agrees that Penn State students should be upset over Paterno, but not for the reasons that they were. 

That is why Paterno is out of a job right now. If he had done more than the absolute bare minimum, we would not be talking about him being unceremoniously removed as head coach of Penn State. 

CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell had two great tweets about a man who is still employed by Penn State, who honestly should have been fired before anyone else. 

Here is the first one:

Here is the second one: 

McQueary can't be on the sidelines for Saturday's game against Nebraska. That would be worse than Paterno being on the field, considering the information that the assistant coach told a grand jury. 

Comedian and author Andy Borowitz was able to inject a little levity to the situation by bringing in Ricky Perry's mental gaffe during the Republican debate. 

Hockey writer Michele Catalano echoed a sentiment that I think a lot of us are feeling today.

Defenders of Paterno are either misguided or misinformed. There has been information trickling out that makes him look incompetent and/or weak. That is why he had to be let go. 

Obviously, Paterno does have his share of supporters. I think that they are supporting him for the wrong reasons, but that is just my opinion. 

Michael Knopf, a student at New York University, uses logic and reason when describing why the riot for Paterno was completely stupid. 

All the talk from the rioters was about how this affects the football program.

Who gives a damn about that right now?

Seriously, where are the values of these people when they focus on football at a time like this?