Penn
State students and supporters of head football coach Joe Paterno
rallied yesterday outside his home amid growing calls for him to resign
related to his response to child sex abuse allegations brought against a
former assistant. The crowd in State College greeted and cheered
Paterno hours after his weekly news conference was canceled. Speaking
outside and from a window at his residence, the 84-year-old Nittany
Lions legend said he was praying for victims in the case. Paterno is
under pressure because of his response to allegations brought to him in
2002 by a graduate assistant who said he had seen retired defensive
coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a young boy in the shower
at the campus football complex. Paterno reported the allegations to his
boss, and Pennsylvania’s attorney general said it appeared that the
coach had met his obligations under state law. Still, some critics have
said that he should have reported the suspected abuse to police.
Paterno’s son, Scott Paterno, said on Twitter yesterday that reports
that university officials were planning an end to Paterno’s 46-year
coaching tenure were “premature.” Sandusky is accused of sexual
offenses, child endangerment and “corruption of a minor” charges
involving eight boys, most or all of whom he met through the Second
Mile, the charity he founded to help troubled youth, according to
prosecutors.
