Penn State Scandal

Penn State Scandal

Nov 11

The scandal revolves around Jerry Sandusky, the football team’s former defensive coordinator who is accused of sexually assaulting children, and it led to the departure of four top university figures, including nationally revered coach Joe Paterno, amid widespread outrage over their perceived failure to contact police.

“This is a tragedy for many lives, and it will take all of us some time to come to grips with the full magnitude of all the damage that has been done,” the university’s new president, Rodney Erickson, told the board of trustees on Friday.
“Healing cannot occur until we understand how responsibilities to these children failed and how we can prevent such tragedies in the future,” he said.

Kenneth Frazier, a Penn State trustee, will chair the university’s special committee looking into the child sex abuse allegations at the school. Frazier told the board of trustees on Friday that the inquiry will be “rigorous, objective and impartial.”

Questions about how university officials responded to reports of alleged abuse cost coaching legend Paterno and university President Graham Spanier their jobs. Paterno has been criticized for not calling police, but he has not faced any legal charges.

Paterno reported the allegations to his boss. Pennsylvania’s attorney general said it appeared Paterno had met his obligations under state law, but critics have said the coach should have reported the suspected abuse to police.

That perceived lapse led to the coach’s downfall. The board of trustees fired Paterno and university President Graham Spanier on Wednesday night.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley took over as interim head coach. McQueary won’t be at Saturday’s Nebraska game because of “multiple threats,” the university athletics website said Thursday night.