A new twist to the Penn State football scandal that has rocked the nation, as now former Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno has a treatable form of lung cancer, according to his son Scott Paterno.
The news was first reported by the Associated Press on Friday afternoon. Paterno was recently fired by Penn State surrounding the scandal involving former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who is facing 40 felony charges stemming from allegations of sexual assault and harassment on eight young boys.
Paterno originally offered to resign at the conclusion of the season, but was ultimately relieved of duty in the middle of the week prior to his team's home finale against Nebraska. Students rallied outside of his house and rioted around the campus in support of Paterno, which turned into another national story in itself.
Paterno has been involved with Penn State football since 1950 when he was an assistant and became the team's head coach in 1966. In his career, Paterno won 409 games - more than any other coach in history - while losing 136 games and playing in three ties. Paterno also has a 24-12-1 bowl game record and has won two national championship.s