After apologizing last week for his comments regarding Tony Johnson's arrest for driving under the influence, Joe Paterno has again reached out the community and taken a firm stance against the misbehavior of several football team members.

The Penn State football coach opened Tuesday's press conference by announcing that sophomore guard Tommy McHugh had been dismissed from the team. McHugh allegedly struck a woman late Saturday night after she made derogatory comments about the football program.

Paterno also announced that Johnson would be suspended for Saturday's game against Ohio State.

It was crucial for Paterno to devote part of his press conference to these issues. Though Paterno is a football coach, he is also a prominent community figure.

As a respected and revered Penn State leader, it was incumbent on him to publicly recognize the problems that have plagued the team this semester. Several of his players have been irresponsible, and it was up to Paterno to make it known he would not tolerate this irresponsibility, as well as to make it known to the community that such actions are unacceptable.

Although Paterno should not make an example out of any individual, he had to do something regarding the several incidents this year. Dismissing McHugh is a step. It shows that Paterno is setting consequences for his players. But even more importantly, Paterno is realizing the tremendous affects of his words.

In the past, Paterno has been reluctant to comment until a court decision for a particular case had been reached. While this may be prudent, there have been too many instances of football player misconduct to ignore. He had to address the situation to let the community know that while football players are often admired, the recent inappropriate actions should not be.

We hope Paterno continues to be honest with his team, his fans, students and the media.