Penn State Scandal: Joe Paterno To Have Off-Campus Press Conference, Son Says

Nov 08 1:37p by Evan Dunlap

Less than an hour before Joe Paterno's weekly news conference was scheduled to start, Penn State canceled it, citing "the on-going legal circumstances centered around the recent allegations and charges." The investigation and subsequent indictment of former Nittany Lions assistant coach Jerry Sandusky for child sexual abuse is to blame.

Penn State didn't want Paterno to speak, but he's going to do just that anyway, it appears. As first reported by Ben Jones of Black Shoe Diaries, SB Nation's Penn State blog, Paterno's son Scott "is working on setting up an off-campus press conference for Paterno to speak at." Scott Paterno told the media earlier Tuesday the University's cancelation of his father's news conference disappointed the elder Paterno, and that the coach was prepared to address Saturday's game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers as well as the allegations against Sandusky.

Penn State, currently ranked No. 12 in the nation, hosts No. 19 Nebraska on Saturday. Understandably, that game, which has huge implications for the Big Ten, has taken on lesser importance in the wake of the allegations against Sandusky. Further, Jones reports Scott Paterno said his father will coach against Nebraska and "is not stepping down."

Between the off-campus news conference and the statement that Joe Paterno will not leave Penn State, it certainly appears as though the Paternos are digging in.