A widespread rumor, spread late Tuesday and Wednesday via social media, goes this way:
The Paterno family asked that Penn State trustees not attend Joe Paterno’s public memorial service, scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center.
But statements released by Penn State board and Paterno representatives on Wednesday may undermine that rumor.
Asked directly about the matter Wednesday morning, Paterno family spokesman Dan McGinn sent this e-mail message to StateCollege.com:
“This is a week of celebration and remembrance. The family will graciously welcome anyone to the public memorial who wishes to pay tribute to Joe Paterno.”
A spokesperson for the Penn State trustees, also approached about the matter Wednesday morning, shared this written statement with StateCollege.com:
“Some board members (have chosen) to attend the memorial service and others chose not to for their own individual reasons. All board members understand the pain and grief of the Paterno family and join with all Penn Staters to respect the great contributions Joe Paterno made to Penn State on and off the ball field over many decades.”
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Patriot-News in Harrisburg quoted gubernatorial spokesman Kevin Harley as saying this: “I am not aware that any members of the (university’s) Board of Trustees are attending (the memorial service), at the request of the family.”
The Patriot-News later reported that Gov. Tom Corbett, who is a Penn State board member, would be welcome to attend the service, per a statement from the Paterno family.
The paper, citing an unnamed source, also indicated that “the Paterno family was in fact discouraging the trustees from attending as a group or in a formal capacity.”
Penn State board members dismissed the longtime coach, then 84, from his duties on Nov. 9. The late-evening dismissal, made in the wake of criminal sexual-abuse charges filed against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, set off a firestorm of criticism, particularly among some alumni.
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