Via YouTube/HBO
Paterno, HBO’s new film which tells the story of the Penn State sex abuse scandal, has its first full trailer. The movie, starring Al Pacino as former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, is bound to cause a stir when it is released on April 7th.
The Penn State sex abuse scandal broke in 2011 when it was publicly revealed that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had been molesting young boys for many years using his charity the Second Mile, which was dedicated to helping disenfranchised youth, to groom his victims.
HBO described the plot in a statement:
“The film centers on Joe Paterno, who, after becoming the winningest coach in college football history, is embroiled in Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure regarding the victims.”
Amidst the fallout from the scandal and the subsequent revelations that Paterno knew of the allegations against Sandusky and made little to no effort to protect Sandusky’s victims from further abuse, Paterno was forced to resign in December 2011. He passed away from lung cancer less than two months later.
Sandusky was convicted on 45 of the 48 charges that had been leveled against him and received a sentenced to thirty to sixty years in prison and was declared a sexually violent predator.
Check out the full trailer for Paterno below.