A "text message" sent to the Penn State football team last year threatened to remove any player who spoke to the Judicial Affairs director about a downtown apartment brawl, according to Judicial Affairs documents recently obtained by The Daily Collegian.
Two players reported the team received a "text message" by the "Head Coach," threatening to remove them from the team if they came into Judicial Affairs to speak with Director of Judicial Affairs Joe Puzycki, according to the documents.
Though the report did not name the head coach, Joe Paterno has been the head coach of the Penn State football team for 42 years.
During a recent report on ESPN's Outside the Lines, Paterno denied any message being sent out.
"It's a lie," he told ESPN. "Somebody may have sent something. ... I don't even know how to send a text message."
According to the documents, when Puzycki challenged the sending of the text message, it was reported to him by one of the players that the coach said, "if you had a problem, you should call him directly."
Paterno could not be immediately reached to comment in response to The Daily Collegian's acquisition of the documents. Guido D'Elia, Penn State's director of branding and communications, said he had no response to questions about any possible message sent out after the incident, which happened at the Meridian II, 646 E. College Ave.
"We're not going to respond to anything about the Meridian," D'Elia said. "The Meridian was 16 months ago."
In April 2007, a fight involving several football players erupted inside the Meridian II. Six players were originally charged in connection with the incident, including cornerbacks Justin King and Lydell Sargeant, defensive tackle Chris Baker, linebackers Jerome Hayes and Tyrell Sales and safety Anthony Scirrotto.
Charges were later dropped against King, Hayes, Sales and Sargeant. In February, Scirrotto pleaded guilty to misdemeanor defiant trespass as part of a plea deal.
Baker also reached a plea deal in May, pleading guilty to simple assault and criminal trespass, both misdemeanors, in connection with the Meridian fight.
Baker was recently removed from the team for undisclosed reasons. He declined to comment when reached by phone last night.
