Joe Paterno succumbs to cancer, dies at 85.
With the college football world mourning the death of legendary coach Joe Paterno, one disgraceful group is celebrating his passing and plans to stage a protest during his funeral. Upon learning of Paterno’s death, the Westboro Baptist Church (“WBC”) tweeted to the nation that “He’s in Hell.” The fiery Margie Phelps, the daughter of WBC Pastor Fred Phelps and general counsel, regaled Paterno’s passing by publishing some disturbing tweets.
Westboro Baptist Church continues to mount controversy.
The WBC, based in Topeka, Kansas, is known for its extreme and controversial views and sends its message by picketing and protesting funerals against persons deemed a danger to America. For example, the church planned pickets for Apple founder Steve Jobs, picketed Michael Jackson’s funeral, and most disturbing, picketed funerals of soldiers killed in combat holding offensive signs such as “God Hates You” and “God Hates F*gs.”
This is not the first time WBC has been on Penn State’s radar. This past November, WBC planned to picket the Penn State-Nebraska game after news broke that Jerry Sandusky was charged with sex crimes against minors. WBC picketers wisely failed to show as the hateful message would certainly have not been received well by the 106,000+ loyal Nittany Lion fans. However, there were roughly 25 WBC protestors standing behind police barricades protesting Penn State and Joe Paterno during post-season play at the Ticket City Bowl.
The church, if you can call it that, initially targeted Penn State and the football program after the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal broke. While WBC’s message is deeply offensive, the church recently won a Supreme Court case allowing for the picketing and protesting of funerals under the First Amendment.
