Joe Paterno is in serious condition as he experiences health complications, a family spokesman has told The Associated Press.
The former Penn State football coach, 85, has been hospitalized since Jan. 13, according to an AP report posted about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. He has been under “observation for what his family called minor complications from cancer treatments,” the AP piece reads.
It quotes Paterno family spokesman Dan McGinn. He told the wire service: “Over the last few days Joe Paterno has experienced further health complications. His doctors have now characterized his status as serious.
“His family will have no comment on the situation and asks that their privacy be respected during this difficult time,” McGinn went on.
Paterno has been receiving treatments for lung cancer for a number of weeks. His family announced in November that he had been diagnosed with the disease.
The head football coach at Penn State for 46 seasons, Paterno was dismissed from his job Nov. 9 in the wake of child-sexual-abuse charges filed against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
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