52%: Firing Paterno right decision
Following the death and memorial service for legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, Poll Position asked the following question, at the memorial service for Joe Paterno, some of the speakers were angry over how quickly Penn State fired Paterno after the child sex abuse scandal came to light. In hindsight do you think Penn State made the right decision to fire Paterno?
In our national scientific telephone survey, 52% said Penn State made the right decision, 32% said Penn State made the wrong decision, 14% said they did not know enough about the situation, 3% had no opinion.
Paterno was fired soon after child sexual molestation charges were filed against former longtime Paterno assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Paterno was never charged with any wrongdoing but he was criticized for not doing more to address the Sandusky situation when it was first brought to his attention. At Paterno’s memorial service some felt the university acted too quickly in dismissing the Penn State icon. Paterno said he was planning to retire when the season ended, but he was not given that chance. A few months later, Paterno died from lung cancer.
More men than women thought Penn State was right to fire the legendary coach with 56% saying the decision was correct, 32% said Penn State was wrong to fire Paterno so quickly. Among women, 48% said it was the right decision to fire Paterno, 31% thought it was the wrong thing to do.
Poll Position’s scientific telephone survey of 1,186 registered voters nationwide was conducted January 29, 2012 and has a margin of error of ±3%. Poll results are weighted to be a representative sampling of all American adults.
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The online companion poll in which you can vote provides unscientific results, meaning it’s a tally of participating Poll Position users, not a nationally representative sampling.
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It was a rush to judgement. Those who were charged with a felony (lying) were suspended. Paterno was fired over the phone. As his wife said “He deserved more”