Jay Paterno says his father is eager to tell his side of the sex abuse scandal that has tarnished the university.
“He’s very anxious … to start to tell his side of the story,” Paterno says in an interview with ESPN. “What that timetable is, I don’t know exactly but he definitely is chomping at the bit.”
Joe Paterno was diagnosed with a treatable form of lung cancer in November, just days after a grand jury report alleged that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had sexually abused several boys spanning 15 years, beginning in 1994.
Despite his age (Paterno turned 85 in December), he is determined to fight for his life -- and he’s up for the challenge, his son says.
“Any kind you’ve got this kind of fight on your hands, you have to have a fighting spirit, which Joe has always had. And he’s fighting like crazy, but it takes energy out of him, like it does anybody else,” Jay Paterno tells ESPN.
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The cancer battle has been a positive in a way, Paterno says in the interview. "Every day he’s had a fight to go fight and that’s really what drives him in his life ... And in that regard, the cancer has provided him something, where it’s a constant fight, if there’s a ridiculous silver lining in this cloud it would be that."
In a victory over Illinois in October, Paterno became the winningest coach in Division I college football with 409 victories.
“I kid him about, ‘Hey this is win No. 410, probably the most important win you got, is when you beat cancer,” his son tells ESPN. “He’s always had that mindset. His spirits are really good and he’s always pushing us to, ‘Stop, don’t feel sorry for me. Go take care of what you got to take care of. Spend time with your kids, I’m going to be around for a while so don’t worry about that.”
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