On November 9, 2011 Penn State fired legendary football coach Joe Paterno in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Oh, I’m sorry, that’s incorrect. Penn State did not fire Joe Paterno. Seriously. Here’s what Steve Garban and John Surma of the Penn State Board of Trustees had to say about Paterno’s continued employment on Thursday. From CBS:

“Coach Paterno remains employed by the University as a tenured faculty member,” they said in a statement released Thursday. “The details of his retirement are being worked out and will be made public when they are finalized.  Generally speaking, the University intends to honor the terms of his employment contract and is treating him financially as if he had retired at the end of the 2011 football season.”

That’s right. Paterno is still getting paid. Penn State is still honoring his contract. And yes, they plan on sending him off into the sunset just like they would any other employee who retired after years of service to the university.

The Penn State students wanted their school to stand by the man who helped cover up years of rape of young boys and it turns out that they did. Students will be devastated to find out that all that rioting was actually over nothing. Good for you, Penn State. You continue to handle this situation with the grace of a drunken elephant.

[CBS via Brooks]