Reaction focuses on Joe Paterno's whole story, not last chapter Many fans, former players and college football observers reacted to the news of Joe Paterno's death Sunday by focusing on the longtime coach's successes on the playing field and his role as a teacher of character rather than on the final chapter of his career that resulted in his firing on Nov. 9. Paterno, who died at 85, was fired by Penn State trustees after he was criticized for not going to police in 2002 when he was told that former assistant Jerry Sandusky allegedly had been seen molesting a boy in the showers at the football complex. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Paterno had secured his place in the state's history, and that "as both man and coach," Paterno had "confronted adversities, both past and present, with grace and forbearance." At an Iowa-Penn State wrestling match Sunday afternoon, a crowd of about 6,500 people gave a 30-second standing ovation as an image of Paterno appeared on two video boards. The screen flashed the words "Joseph Vincent Paterno 1926-2012" and a picture of a smiling Paterno in a blue tie and blue sweater vest. There were also moments of silence at Penn State's men's and women's basketball games, and players wore black ribbons on their uniforms. Still, the circumstances that led to the end of Paterno's career remained on the minds of many. At the university's Berkey Creamery, Ginger Colon of Fairfax, Va., was picking up two half-gallons of Peachy Paterno ice cream when she heard the news. Colon, whose daughter attends Penn State, said it was sad that the scandal would be part of Paterno's legacy. But from a personal note, it makes you rethink when things are reported to you by employees: Have I taken enough steps? Colon said. Ed Hill of Altoona, Pa., a longtime season-ticket holder, had a different opinion: "His legacy is without question as far as I'm concerned," he said. The Board of Trustees threw him to the wolves. I think Joe was a scapegoat nationally. . . . I'm heartbroken. Paterno's former players spoke glowingly of him. Mickey Shuler, who played for Paterno in the mid-1970s, said the coach had been a father figure and expressed his disappointment about how he was fired. "It's just sad, because I think he died from other things than lung cancer," Shuler said. I don't think that the Penn State that he helped us to become and all the principles and values and things that he taught were carried out in the handling of his situation. Former Penn State linebacker Matt Millen said, "My first thoughts about Joe are not as a coach because he was well beyond that. He was an educator and a teacher. He taught lessons, some about football, mostly about life. He taught us how to treat others and how to conduct life. He did it with his life. And from former running back Lydell Mitchell: "We came to Penn State as young kids and when we left there we were men and the reason for that was Joe Paterno."