Jerry Sandusky Trial Nears As Mike McQueary Prepares To Sue Penn State

Judging by the looming trial against former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, two things just keep happening over and over in any court proceeding: one side wants to keep delaying, and both sides keep wrangling over evidence.

Sandusky's defense wants the trial delayed, which would be at least the second such stoppage. It's scheduled to begin June 5 after originally slated to start in May, with a pretrial hearing set for Wednesday. Defense attorney Joe Amendola says he needs more time and says he's still waiting to hear back from the prosecution regarding the sharing of certain evidence.

And speaking, as always, of evidence, the prosecution wants Sandusky's computer hard drive, but the defense says it would cost $10,000 in equipment to make that happen.

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Mike McQueary, the former wide receivers coach for the Penn St. Nittany Lions, was a key witness who testified about Jerry Sandusky's alleged actions in the PSU locker room in 2001. After McQueary came forward as a witness in the case, he received death threats and was placed on administrative leave by the university.

Mike Dawson of the Centre Daily Times reports that McQueary has filed a notice of intent to sue Penn State. The notice is for a civil suit and was filed in county court on Tuesday.

The details of the suit are not immediately known but the case is referred to in the filed documents as a "whistleblower" lawsuit. Under United States law, employees who report on illegal activity are protected and should not be subject to reprisal or termination by the employer as a result of their testimony.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

Prosecutors in the sex assault trial against former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky claim to have accidentally included a 30-page document containing the names of alleged victims in a bundle of evidence being sent to the defense, The Patriot-News' Sara Ganim reports. The document was briefly posted on the Centre Court website before judge John Cleland agreed to seal it, according to Ganim.

In addition to the evidence shared by prosecutors, Sandusky's defense is digging into everything it can find about the accusers. The Associated Press report lists "school transcripts, medical records going back to birth, Internet search histories, Facebook account details, employment-related documents and cellphone and Twitter records" among the items it's trying to obtain. There will be a pre-trial hearing Wednesday on just how much of that information the defense must be granted.

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Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant coach Mike McQueary originally claimed he witnessed Jerry Sandusky engaged in some sort of inappropriate behavior with a young boy on the Friday before spring break in 2002. However, that's now been amended to Feb. 9, 2001, due to new evidence uncovered by prosecutors.

Attorneys for former school officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, also on trial for perjury, say this would affect the statute of limitations for their clients:

The Commonwealth charged this case before it knew the facts. Now, it is clear that Mike McQueary was wrong in so adamantly insisting that the incident happened the Friday before Spring Break in 2002. Whether or not Mr. McQueary's insistence was the result of faulty memory, or questionable credibility, there is no dispute that the statute of limitations has expired [on failing to report child sexual abuse] and it will be dismissed.

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The sex abuse trial against former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been delayed until June 5, Sara Ganim reports. It has been tentatively scheduled to being in mid-May, but Sandusky's representation had been pushing for a delay.

However, this adjustment isn't due to the defense, but due to what judge Joe Amendola described as scheduling issues.

Paperwork battles continue between the two sides, with each side filing stacks of documents on whether the whole thing should be dismissed or not. It probably won't be, but lawyers have to try this sort of thing, I guess.

Sandusky is accused of molesting multiple young boys, many of them on Penn State grounds. He was arrested last year, with the ensuing scandal costing Joe Paterno his coaching job.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

The ongoing saga of former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is just that -- ongoing. While he's been charged with more than 50 counts of child sexual abuse, it's looking as though the whole situation is still capable of looking worse and worse for him, Joe Paterno and Penn State.

What makes it look worse is the fact that NBC News obtained the complete file on the 1998 police investigation of Sandusky, when he allegedly was showering and bear hugging a young boy in the locker room. That investigation has some troubling conclusions, mostly from psychologist Dr. Alycia A. Chambers, a therapist for one of Sandusky's alleged victims.

The file includes a report from Chambers that states Sandusky's actions fit the pattern of a "likely pedophile." A piece from MSNBC has some recent quotes from Chambers that shed further light on the situation:

"There was very little doubt in my mind (Sandusky) ... was a male predator, someone that was in the process of grooming a young man for abuse ," said Chambers, speaking publicly for the first time, with the permission of her client's family, in an interview with NBC News. "I thought...my report was strong enough to suggest that this was somebody who should be watched."

This is significant to everything related to this situation because it's 1998 -- a full four years before Mike McQueary reported to Paterno regarding catching Sandusky in the shower with a young boy. It's troubling to know that such solid and professional ties to Sandusky and this kind of behavior dates back that far. The piece also has some quotes from one of the investigators in the 1998 case, who claims he never saw the report from Chambers.

Even if something like this was never introduced as evidence in an official police investigation, the report suggests that the proper people at the school were made aware of Chambers' conclusion.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

Back in January, Penn State University promised to find Jerry Sandusky's alleged sex abuse victims and pay for their "abuse-related health costs," but the Patriot News' Sara Ganim reported Wednesday evening that no victims had yet been helped. Hours later, the school announced it has established a partnership with which it can follow through with its pledge.

As for the pending trial itself, the cases for and against the former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach are still being constructed, with judge John Cleland providing the defense with the contact information of Sandusky's accusers. One alleged victim's lawyer says Sandusky "knows what he did to these young men."

Penn State's own investigation also continues, with former FBI chief Louis Freeh's team interviewing 200 individuals. Freeh has been tasked by the school's Board of Trustees with exploring exactly the role the football program played at the school in light of the Sandusky coverup.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

The sex crimes trial of former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky remains tentatively scheduled for two months from now. As the start date approaches, Sandusky's lawyers and the prosecution are working to determine just how much evidence will be made available to the defense before the trial.

Sandusky's side will get access to the grand jury records, but won't get specific details on when and where his crimes are alleged to have occurred. The prosecution says it doesn't have that kind of detail, since the alleged victims were children at the time. Thus Joe Amendola, Sandusky's lawyer, will attempt to have that evidence thrown out.

The former Penn State coach is accused of sexually abusing 10 young boys, many of them on Penn State's campus.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

According to a Thursday court filing by prosecutors, former Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky had alleged sexual abuse victims that ranged from age eight to 17, and that instances involving eight boys occurred on the Penn State campus (via SI.com).

Via the attorney general's "bill of particulars," one boy was abused in Florida and Texas, while another was abused at his own school. The alleged assaults happened between 1996 to 2009 and ranged from Sandusky's home to the Penn State athletics facilities.

The document, which was produced thanks to a request by Sandusky's lawyer, discloses details of the allegations that might help them prepare a defense.

The 68-year-old Sandusky is confined to his home while he awaits trial on 52 criminal counts, all of which he denies guilt.

On Wednesday, a judge turned down Sandusky's request for a two-month delay and tentatively scheduled trial to begin with jury selection on May 14.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

The trial of former Penn State Nittany Lions coordinator Jerry Sandusky was tentatively set for a May 14 start date, but the defense wants more time to prepare. Sandusky lawyer Joe Amendola asked Judge John Cleland for two months more time to collect information and hire experts.

If granted, that request would mean the Sandusky trial would begin in the middle of the summer and possibly linger well into football season. Since the scandal first came to light in November, that could mean something like a year's worth of the story right there.

Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing 10 young boys. He's been hit with 52 charges. The revelation of his alleged deeds cast an ugly air all around State College and led to the firing of longtime coach Joe Paterno.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been the subject of a months-long investigation into numerous claims that he sexually abused children. Now, according to Sara Ganim of The Patriot-News, Sandusky is also the subject of a federal investigation that involves both Penn State and The Second Mile, the children's charity Sandusky allegedly used to meet more than 10 of the children he's charged with abusing.

Ganim writes that the federal investigation is separate from and "parallel to" the state investigation into Sandusky, and that Penn State confirmed to her that it received a subpoena from federal authorities for information related to the university, former Penn State president Graham Spanier, and Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who face perjury charges for their roles in the Sandusky investigation.

Sandusky's state trial date has been set for May 14 in a Pennsylvania court.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

At a pretrial hearing that ended Friday, Jerry Sandusky's defense asked judge John Cleland to allow the former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach to leave his house to visit his grandchildren and for trial jurors to come from the State College area. The defense also wanted to see information from attorney general's office, including the ages of alleged victims. Monday, Cleland granted all requests.

Regarding the prosecution's complaint that locals had accused Sandusky of watching nearby children from his porch while on house arrest, Cleland responded:

"No evidence was presented that at any time the defendant made any effort to contact any of the children by signaling or calling to them, or that he made any gestures directed toward them, or that he acted in any inappropriate way whatsoever,'' Cleland wrote.

Sandusky's sex abuse allegations trial is tentatively scheduled for May 14.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

The ongoing Jerry Sandusky case now has a tentative trial date: May 14, announced by judge John Cleland. The former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach, accused of sexually abusing young boys, has been going through a pretrial hearing this week.

Sandusky testified Friday at the hearing that he doesn't think it matters whether his jury is local to State College or composed of Pennsylvanians from elsewhere. Prosecutors want an out-of-county jury, while the defense wants to restrict jurors to nearer Penn State's campus.

Cleland also promised a swift ruling on Sandusky's request to see his grandchildren and heard complaints from prosecutors about Sandusky allegedly being spotted observing schoolchildren from his porch while on house arrest. The prosecution wants Sandusky to remain indoors except in the event of an emergency. The defense, of course, wants Sandusky to be able to leave his house.

For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.

Hey, look! Gross and terrible things being alleged about Jerry Sandusky! The latest: Pennsylvania state prosecutors say neighbors are complaining he's been watching a nearby schoolyard from his porch. Sandusky's currently on house arrest, but the prosecution wants him barred from stepping outdoors except for medical reasons.

Whether he's actually doing it or not, the former Penn State coach continues to be accused of doing things that are completely tone-deaf at absolute best, such as releasing a public statement on the occasion of Joe Paterno's death. Or, wait, that one definitely happened. Have had entirely enough of reading about what he's up to.

Meanwhile, as trials near, Sandusky's side wants access to copies of the grand jury testimony used to construct the public claims raised against him.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

The passing of former Penn St. Nittany Lions football coach Joe Paterno is expected to have no impact on the cases against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who's accused of raping multiple young boys over the period of about a decade. But according to a New York Times report, the seven-minute testimony Paterno recorded and his testimony for the Sandusky grand jury can't be used in future proceedings against former admins Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who've been charged with perjury:

"Now that Paterno is deceased, this charge will have to stand only on the report by McQueary," said Geoff Moulton, a former federal prosecutor and an associate professor at Widener School of Law. "With respect to Victim 2 and the charges against Curley and Schultz, McQueary's testimony, which has always been critical, is even more so."

This damages the cases against Curley and Schultz, which now have to rely largely on the story of former graduate assistant Mike McQueary, whose story may have changed slightly over time. Plenty of other evidence should still be on the way against Sandusky, however, including expected testimony from multiple alleged victims.

Paterno had testified that he knew Sandusky had been accused of "inappropriate action."

For more on Paterno, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation's college football news hub.

The death of Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno won't have any real impact on the case against Jerry Sandusky or the multiple ongoing investigations into Penn State's handling of the allegations against him. While Paterno had key testimony to provide regarding what former graduate assistant Mike McQueary allegedly saw Sandusky doing to a young boy, Paterno's seven-minute piece has already been recorded for the court to examine.

Multiple legal experts told the Associated Press that Paterno's death shouldn't alter the case or cases in any major way. One said his role in the case has served as a distraction from the heart of the matter -- whether Sandusky did or didn't abuse children -- though we're sure he didn't mean it's a good thing Paterno's no longer involved.

Considering his physical weakness in the weeks before his passing, it's not easy to imagine Paterno being able to devote much time and energy to lengthy court proceedings even if he'd been healthy enough.

For more on Paterno, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation's college football news hub.

Jerry Sandusky is in the news these days for all of the wrong reasons, but the former Penn State Nittany Lions assistant coach decided to issue a statement on his former head coach following the death of Joe Paterno on Sunday morning.

Sandusky is currently facing 52 criminal charges for the alleged sexual abuse of children -- charges that led to a blowup of the Penn State football program and the ousting of Paterno as head coach after he'd spent the previous 61 years coaching at the school.

Sandusky's statement, as released to the Associated Press, is included below.

"This is a sad day! Our family, Dottie and I would like to convey our deepest sympathy to Sue and her family. Nobody will be able to take away the memories we all shared of a great man, his family, and all the wonderful people who were a part of his life."

"He maintained a high standard in a very difficult profession. Joe preached toughness, hard work and clean competition. Most importantly, he had the courage to practice what he preached."

For more on Paterno, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For more college football, stay tuned to SB Nation's college football news hub.

In the wake of sexual abuse allegations leveled at Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant coach surprised many in November by agreeing to speak with NBC's Bob Costas on national television. Apparently, Sandusky is open to granting another interview to a high-profile personality.From PennLive.com:

Sandusky’s attorney, Joe Amendola, said [Sandusky's wife] Dottie Sandusky doesn’t have an attorney and sees no need for one. The couple is considering speaking together publicly after the new year, Amendola said — either to Oprah Winfrey, to the CBS show "60 Minutes," to NBC’s "Rock Center" or to ABC’s Barbara Walters.

Those, in fact, are four of the highest-profile possible platforms for a television interview. It's difficult to understand what the Sanduskys' motives would be to set up such an interview, especially considering that his interview with Costas seemed to do nothing but reinforce the public's opinion of him.

An interview with Oprah Winfrey would be an especially remarkable development. Winfrey herself is a survivor of sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

(Via Deadspin)

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Former Penn St. Nittany Lions vice president Gary Schultz' testimony joined Joe Paterno's and Tim Curley's in court records on Friday. His is certainly the hardest to read. At one point, Schultz explained why he didn't feel Penn State should take allegations of "inappropriate conduct" against former coach Jerry Sandusky to the police.

Here's how Schultz conveyed his reasoning:

CoryGiger Schultz in transcript: "Not all inappropriate conduct is criminal."

CoryGiger Schultz in transcript: an adult being naked in a shower with a young boy doesn't necessarily constitute criminal    

CoryGiger Schultz in transcript: "I don't know if it's criminal" if a man grabs a young boy's genitals    

We don't really need me to explain to you everything that's off there.

Schultz added that he didn't try to find out the alleged victim's identity.

He agreed with Curley in describing Mike McQueary's version of the shower incident as just "horsing around," adding that genitals may have been grabbed. 

Regarding the 1998 claim against Sandusky, Schultz testified he believed the 2002 investigation had been sent along to the same "agency," though he couldn't specify which agency that may have been.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Former Penn St. Nittany Lions athletic director Tim Curley had testimony read into court records Friday. He's the AD who was arrested and charged with perjury for his role, or lack thereof, in the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse investigation.

Curley testified that, from what then-graduate assistant Mike McQueary told him Sandusky had done, he didn't think a crime had occurred. He said McQueary described the shower encounter as "horsing around" with a child and not "anal intercourse." The decision not to call police was his own, Curley said. 

He also said he was contacted by Joe Paterno on Sunday following the allegation, but Paterno testified that he didn't contact Curley until the weekend was over. Curley said he and then-vice president Gary Schultz visited Paterno's house that Sunday.

After being told by Paterno and McQueary about the GA's claim, Curley said he and Schultz met with then-president Graham Spanier. Curley said he told Sandusky he was uncomfortable with the situation, but that he didn't keep him from bringing children onto Penn State's campus.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Testimony by former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno was read into court records Friday afternoon. His remarks were brief, adding slight detail to his role in the story. The coach said he passed along Mike McQueary's allegations against Jerry Sandusky to athletic director Tim Curley, trusting the right thing would be done.

Here's Paterno, as quoted by the Daily Collegian:

I knew innapropriate action was taken by Jerry Sandusky with a youngster. I told Mike that what he did what was right. I said I would refer his concerns to the right people.

But one portion is going to draw more attention than the others. Paterno said he would've contacted Curley and vice president Gary Schultz immediately, but didn't want to interfere with their weekends. While that won't cut it morally for most people, it's an explanation.

There'd been some concern about the timeline relayed in the grand jury report, where it appears each step in the chain of communication halted the claim for a day or so before transmitting. Sounds like that's exactly what happened.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Mike McQueary, an assistant coach with the Penn State Nittany Lions, took to the stand to testify against former Penn State officials accused of lying to a grand jury about sexual abuse allegations against former coach Jerry Sandusky on Friday morning.

McQueary, a former graduate assistant, is the only adult witness on record to allege actually seeing Sandusky involved in the sexual abuse of young boys. The assistant coach was called to the stand early Friday morning to explain exactly what he saw Sandusky do and, according to the USA Today's liveblog of the incident, he testified that he witnessed Sandusky involved in actual intercourse with a young boy.

"I believe they were having some kind of intercourse. He moved toward shower and Sandusky separated from the boy. He didn't say anything and left. I was distraught. I was horrified," McQueary said. "I know they saw me. They both looked directly in my eyes, both of them."

McQueary then testified that he told head coach Joe Paterno was happened.

McQueary said over time that evening his decision was to call Joe Paterno and tell him what he saw. When asked why he told Paterno, McQueary said, "He's the head coach and he needs to know what's happening in there," USA TODAY's Audrey Snyder reports.

McQueary is the only known adult that has admitted to the grand jury that he saw Sandusky engaged in the sexual abuse claims, leaving his testimony as a rather key piece of the case against the former Penn State head coach.

Former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has waived his right to a preliminary hearing. This happened on the morning of said preliminary hearing, sending the assembled media right back from whence they came. His case will now head to trial, with arraignment scheduled for Jan. 11.

Eleven of his accusers were expected to testify in the hearing, which would've determined whether there was sufficient evidence to send the case before a jury.

Waiving the hearing could mean, despite denials, that a plea is in the works, since there's little strategic reason for Sandusky's defense to turn away the chance to hear testimony from the accusers. 

Sandusky was accused of sexually abusing eight young boys, but that number seems to grow every few days.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

The investigation into former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse of young boys could take a turn, if a new report is accurate. The Patriot-News' Sara Ganim reports Mike McQueary, the former graduate assistant who relayed 2002 rape allegations to Joe Paterno, may have never actually witnessed the specifics of rape.

According to grand jury testimony given by Dr. Jonathan Dranov, a family friend who heard McQueary's original account of what he'd seen, the coach witnessed what sounded like inappropriate behavior in Penn State's shower, but perhaps nothing that he could've specifically described with certainty to Paterno as rape.

You'll have to read the report for yourself, but the only way I know how to describe it is that it appears, according to this version, that McQueary felt he wasn't sure he'd witnessed rape, but rather enough to know something was wrong.

The details provided are still appalling and unacceptable, but it's now a little easier to imagine that a game of Telephone could've dulled it to "horseplay" in the minds of university administrators. Again, not that that's OK.

This may help the cases of former admins Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who've been charged with perjury, and could help Sandusky's case as well. McQueary is an important witness -- if his story has changed at all over time, Sandusky's defense may now be able to pick him apart. 

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Can't imagine it's been easy to be Dottie Sandusky, wife of former Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky. Her husband has become the unofficial Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of just about everybody. And despite an extensive grand jury report, it's fruitless to judge her for choosing to believe her husband's claims of innocence. That's just what people do.

Mrs. Sandusky released a statement Thursday:

I want to thank our children, our family, our extended family of former Second Mile participants, and all our friends for standing by us through these difficult times. Jerry and I want to express our sorrow for all the hurt that has come to those who have supported us and our beloved Penn State and State College Communities.

I have been shocked and dismayed by the allegations made against Jerry, particularly the most recent one that a now young man has said he was kept in our basement during visits and screamed for help as Jerry assaulted him while I was in our home and didn't respond to his cries for help.

As the mother of six children, I have been devastated by these accusations. I am also angry about these false accusations that such a terrible incident ever occurred in my home. No child who ever visited our home was ever forced to stay in our basement and fed there. All the kids who visited us ate with us and our kids and other guests when they were at our home. Our children, our extended family and friends know how much Jerry and I love kids and have always tried to help and care for them. We would never do anything to hurt them. I am so sad anyone would make such a terrible accusation which is absolutely untrue. We don't know why these young men have made these false accusations, but we want everyone to know they are untrue.

I continue to believe in Jerry's innocence and all the good things he has done. Jerry's many success stories with his Second Mile kids and positive memories of those kids keep me going. I am asking everyone to please be reasonable and open-minded until both sides of this case are heard, and Jerry has the opportunity to prove his innocence.

I would like to thank all those individuals who continue to support Jerry and hope they will continue to support us through the conclusion of this very sad time in our lives.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Local and federal government bodies are investigating Penn State University in light of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse disaster, and the NCAA has announced it'll play cop in some way or another. Now the Big Ten says in a statement that it would like to join in.

The most noteworthy portion: the conference will "reserve the right to impose sanctions, corrective or other disciplinary measures in the event that adverse findings are made in the areas of institutional control, ethical conduct."

That condition would seem to very, very much apply in this case.

The Big Ten's statement, unquestionably the most boring non-work-related thing you'll read today:

Park Ridge, Ill. - The Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors (COP/C) held its regularly scheduled meeting this week with several items on its Agenda, including the series of events recently unfolding at Penn State University.

With regard to the Penn State matter, the Big Ten office issued the following statement on behalf of the COP/C:

The Big Ten Presidents and Chancellors express their sincere concern for any harm done to innocent young victims and their families. Protection of our children is one of society's most central responsibilities and institutions of higher education should be particularly vigilant. We are committed to examining our own institutions to assure that effective measures are taken to assure the safety of children on our campuses. 

It has been approximately one month since the initial release of the Grand Jury report in the Penn State matter and a number of federal, state and institutional investigations have been launched. While it is premature to reach any conclusions regarding civil or criminal liability arising out of these events, there does appear to be sufficient information to raise significant concerns as to whether a concentration of power in a single individual or program may have threatened or eroded institutional control of intercollegiate athletics at Penn State. 

As a result, the COP/C has determined that:

- It will gather and review the facts arising out of the allegations in the Grand Jury report that pertain to matters of institutional control, ethical conduct and/or other compliance related issues;
- It will request from Penn State University and the NCAA that Big Ten legal counsel be allowed to participate in the investigations or reviews, as the case may be, being conducted by Penn State and the NCAA as pertain to these issues; and
- It will reserve the right to impose sanctions, corrective or other disciplinary measures in the event that adverse findings are made in the areas of institutional control, ethical conduct and/or other Conference related matters.

In addition, the COP/C discussed the imperative of maintaining the public's trust in the integrity of its member institutions and, in earning and deserving this trust, the importance of asserting each institution's control over its intercollegiate athletics programs. The COP/C recognized and acknowledged that from time to time its institutions have failed to maintain the proper control of their athletics programs and that whenever this occurs at one institution in the Conference, due to the common bonds and shared values of the members of the Big Ten, each other member of the Conference is impacted. Accordingly, the COP/C has directed the Conference to initiate an immediate review of the fundamental issues and systems affecting intercollegiate athletics, including the serious issues relating to the institutional control of athletics. It intends for this review to lead to the consideration of a common set of "stress tests" or other criteria that could be applied by the Conference to its member institutions (a) to insure that each member is responsible and accountable to the collective membership of the Conference for the control and operation of its intercollegiate athletics programs as well as (b) to prevent anyone, whether a trustee, administrator, faculty member, athletic director, coach, booster or otherwise, from eroding the effectiveness of an institution's practices and procedures designed to protect the institution's integrity and control over its intercollegiate athletic programs. The COP/C intends for the review to be completed and for the proposed standards, stress tests and other criteria, along with the proposed enforcement procedures and penalties, to be presented to it for consideration at a special meeting to be held in spring 2012.    

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Following his arrest on Wednesday, Judge Robert E. Scott ordered that Jerry Sandusky would have to post $250,000 bail and wear an electronic monitoring device if he didn't want to spend time in jail before facing sexual abuse charges. On Thursday morning, ESPN's Ashoka Moore reported that Sandusky has posted bail, according to court documents. He posted that bail using $200,000 in real estate holdings and a check for $50,000. Sandusky will now leave jail for his home and will wear an electronic monitoring device to ensure that he doesn't go places he isn't supposed to go.

One of those places he isn't supposed to go is the campus of Penn State University, which he is no longer allowed to visit. Incredibly, Sandusky was arrested while wearing PSU attire. Prosecutors had asked the judge to set Sandusky's bail at $1 million, but that request was denied.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Jerry Sandusky will have to go to jail unless he can come up with $250,000 in bail a judge ordered on Wednesday after the latest sexual-abuse charges were made against the former Penn State coach, according to the Associated Press. Even if Sandusky makes bail, Judge Robert E. Scott ordered that he would have to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Prosecutors had requested that Sandusky be held on $1 million bail, but their request was denied. In addition to the significant bail, Sandusky was also banned from Penn State's campus.

Sandusky was wearing a Penn State track suit, and while it may have been entirely coincidental, it has to be making Penn State officials uncomfortable. The last thing they need is to have his connection to the school made even more obvious than it already has been.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Jerry Sandusky has been re-arrested on Wednesday, being led away from his home in handcuffs, after receiving 12 additional charges of child sexual abuse. Around the same time, details about victims 9 and 10 emerged from the Grandy Jury report.

The details of the allegations against Sandusky are enough to make anyone's skin crawl. The accusers detail a pattern of abuse in which Sandusky would get into their good graces through acts of kindness and would eventually advance to overt sexual abuse that included forced oral and anal sex.

Both alleged victims came into contact with Sandusky through his charitable foundation, The Second Mile, and began their relationships before they were teenagers. In both cases, Sandusky first went through the victims' parents in order to initiate contact.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

A 19-year-old man recently filed a complaint with Pennsylvania state police alleging he was sexually abused by Jerry Sandusky after the former Penn St. Nittany Lions coach gave him liquor on campus in 2004, according to the accuser's lawyer Tuesday.

According to the lawyer, Charles Schmidt, his client first contacted him three weeks ago after the many charges of sexual abuse were brought against Sandusky.

From the Associated Press:

"He suffered one incident of abuse, to use the legal term - involuntary deviate sexual intercourse - allegedly at the hands of Mr. Sandusky,'' Schmidt said. "That occurred on the Penn State campus, we believe in the area of the football facilities.'"

Schmidt told The Associated Press that his client was 12-years old when the alleged incident  happened. The lawyer said the two met through The Second Mile.

The grand jury report did not allege any instances of Sandusky giving boys alcohol. Schmidt's law firm is conduction their own investigation of the claims and expects to have a final report in the next few weeks.

Sandusky's lawyer said he was not aware of these claims or the victim.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Bad news for Jerry Sandusky: all eight alleged victims of sexual abuse by the former Penn State defensive coordinator will testify against him next week, according to a report from ABC News.

Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, had told ABC News that he expected at least on alleged victim would come to the former coaches defense, adding that "at least one of the boys had denied that he was abused." But apparently that will not be the case when preliminary hearings begin next week.

Sources told ABC News, however, that all eight boys in the grand jury presentment intend to take the stand against Sandusky when the hearing begins Dec. 13. The hearing in Centre County, Pa., is expected to last several days.

Here's the latest video report from ABC News:

For more on this situation, be sure to check out Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries and follow along on the SB Nation Penn State Scandal stream

Jerry Sandusky denied allegations of sexual child abuse in an interview with the New York Times released Saturday. During the four-hour interview, Sandusky said that former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno never approached him about the investigations into Sandusky's relationship with children in 1998 and 2002.

"I never talked to him about either one," he said. "That's all I can say. I mean, I don't know."

Paterno was fired last month, in part for failing to notify the police after assistant coach Mike McQueary, then a graduate assistant, allegedly caught Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in the Penn State locker room showers in 2002.

According to Sandusky, his relationships with kids was largely misunderstood.

"They've taken everything that I ever did for any young person and twisted it to say that my motives were sexual or whatever," Sandusky told the Times. "I had kid after kid after kid who might say I was a father figure. And they just twisted that all."

So far, eight alleged victims have come forward accusing Sandusky of sexual abuse. More audio from the interview can be found at the New York Times.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

The Jerry Sandusky scandal has taken another turn as the investigation into the former Penn State football coach has now officially made its way into the courts system. A new alleged victim filed the first civil lawsuit on Wednesday morning, stating that he was sexually abused by the former Nittany Lions assistant "over one hundred times."

The new victim is only described in the lawsuit as being under 30 years of age and was referred to as John Doe throughout, but the suit notes that Sandusky met the boy in 1992 when he was 10 years old while participating in programs sponsored by the Second Mile foundation.

According to Lehigh Valley's The Morning Call, the new alleged victim is seeking in excess of $900,000 -- $100,000 from Sandusky, $400,000 from Penn State and $400,000 from The Second Mile.

The lawsuit is posted online (hat-tip to Andrew McGill) and says that Sandusky threatened the new alleged victim and his family if he told anyone about the abuse, forcing the victim to stay silent in the matter until the recent allegations emerged. The alleged victim also released a statement, presented by his lawyers at a press conference Wednesday:

I am the man in this lawsuit and I'm writing this statement and taking this action because I don't want other kids to be hurt and abused by Jerry Sandusky or anybody like Penn State to allow people like him to do it -- rape kids! I never told anybody what he did to me over 100 times at all kinds of places until the newspapers reported that he had abused other kids and the people at Penn State and Second Mile didn't do the things they should have to protect me and the other kids. I am hurting and have been for a long time because of what happened but feel now even more tormented that I have learned of so many other kids were abused after me. Now that I have told and done something about it I am feeling better and going to get help and work with the police. I want other people who have been hurt to know they can come forward and get help and help protect others in the future.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Sue Paterno, the 84-year-old wife of Penn State coaching legend Joe Paterno, was reportedly asked to leave an on-campus pool, according to a report on Wednesday. Part of Mrs. Paterno's routine involved working out at a Penn State facility, but that reportedly changed on Wednesday.

The news of whatever the pool incident was comes from Sara Ganim of the Patriot News, who cites a source close to the Paterno family.

No reason was given, the source told The Patriot-News, and when reached by email, university spokesman Bill Mahon said, "I have heard nobody discuss this."
[...]
Sue Paterno used Penn State facilities to swim and exercise everyday, the source said, but was told Wednesday morning that she could no longer use the facilities.

No word on if this was some kind of misunderstanding or mis-communication.

Joe Paterno was relieved of his duties in the wake of the Penn State scandal earlier this month. Former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky is facing multiple counts of child rape stemming following a lengthy grand jury investigation.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky is facing two more child rape alleges after more victims came forward following the grand jury's indictment. This time, though, the alleged victims are under 18, and came forward after the initial investigation was completed. The story takes an even more interesting twist with the latest set of allegations, as well.

According to Sandusky's attorney, one of the alleged victim's is a member of Sandusky's family.

Attorney Joe Amendola said the allegations stem from difficulties within the child's immediate family. He said the assault is alleged to have occurred prior to Sandusky's arrest earlier this month, but was not brought to the authorities attention until after the former Penn State coach was charged.

The latest allegations are being investigated, but  the process is still in its early stages. Sandusky adopted multiple young boys in the past, taking on a father role to many both in his work with the Second Mile charity and in his home life.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Every judge in Centre County, where Penn State resides, has removed themselves from potentially presiding over the child sex-abuse case against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

They will be replaced by outside jurists, the Pennsylvania court system announced Thursday.

The four Centre County Common Pleas Court judges bowed out "to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest due to real or perceived connections" to Sandusky or the Second Mile charity that he founded. 

McKean County Judge John M. Cleland was appointed to take over the case and judge Kathy A. Morrow will handle matters until he can assume jurisdiction. Neither are said to have any known connections to Sandusky or the school.

A preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 13 at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte also will be handled by an out-of-county jurist, Westmoreland County Senior District Judge Robert E. Scott. Scott replaced the original judge, who had ties to Sandusky's charity.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Combining the Jerry Sandusky grand jury report and subsequent pieces from the New York Times and FOX's Philadelphia affiliate, the total number of alleged victims has approached 20 or so. Now, the Patriot-News' Sara Ganim reports two cases that have been opened in the past 60 days involve alleged victims who are still children.

Children and Youth Services is the investigating body, since the police only get involved if the victim is 18 or older at the time of the allegation.

Some day soon, the full time line of allegations will be laid out, one way or another. It's not going to be fun to look at, and it's awful to think it's still being filled out.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

The preliminary hearing for Jerry Sandusky has been pushed back once again. The former Penn State defensive coordinator will now face 40 counts of child sex abuse charges on Dec. 13.

The case will be brought to an out-of-state judge to eliminate any real or perceived of conflict of interest with Penn State or Sandusky's charity, The Second Mile, Patriot-News' Sara Ganim reports.

Former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz are still scheduled for preliminary hearings at 9 a.m. on Dec. 6 in Dauphin County, Penn. Each man is charged with perjury and failure to report a crime, stemming from a report of abuse on campus from 2002.

The preliminary hearing for Sandusky had already been pushed back to Dec. 7 in early November.

For more on the Nittany Lions, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For more college football news, visit our College Football hub.

Jerry Sandusky's lawyer, Joe Amendola, has had a puzzling legal strategy early on. Since letting his client creep out America by barely denying the charges raised against him to Bob Costas, Amendola's now taken to describing one of the grand jury report's listed victims as "pampered" and "encouraged" to make the story something worse than what it really was, whatever it really may have been.

The Sandusky side of the story, apparently, is that the coach was tough on his pupils, which somehow sparked an exaggerated retort. Amendola also says "there might have been 25 to 50 people at Jerry's house" during one of the alleged sexual abuse episodes.

Amendola does raise one point that has troubled pretty much everybody, though it's hard to think it'll count for much as a defense:

"(It also) defies absolute logic that that someone could see something that horrific, that god awful, and not one, do anything about it, and number two, continue to interface with the person that he saw doing it," Amendola said, referring to McQueary's ongoing working relationship with Sandusky for years after the alleged incident.    

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Joe Paterno isn't perfect, and never really was the saint of college football. Most of us learned this the hard way while reading the Jerry Sandusky grand jury report. And either this week is Come Out Of The Woodwork To Bash JoePa Week, or a handful of people have been holding back thoughts on the former PSU coach for quite a while.

A Wall Street Journal report into internal school emails shows a coach from a different era struggling to deal with modern player discipline. Paterno butts heads with Vicky Triponey, the university's standards and conduct officer, preferring to keep indiscretions (like BEATINGS and so forth) hush-hush by just having players run stairs and clean the stadium.

Elsewhere, USA Today's Kelly Whiteside collects quotes from others who've experienced Happy Valley, including this stunner:

William Britt, a police sergeant in Philadelphia's homicide division, said he's not surprised by the alleged cover-up. "I see how this happens (at Penn State). We lived it," Britt said.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, will head up Penn State's internal investigation into the Jerry Sandusky debacle. He was introduced by PSU Board of Trustees investigative committee chair Ken Frazier, who said, "We are here today in response to the shocking and horrendous grand jury report."

Freeh is charged with digging into the entire university's role in Sandusky's alleged crimes, including any roles the trustees themselves may have played.

It's not the first foray into sports-related investigations for Freeh. He also looked into charges of FIFA World Cup corruption and the Reggie Bush ordeal at USC. Many jokes are probably running through your head right now after reading those two items.

Freeh said any findings of criminality will be sent immediately to the police and that the investigation needs to go back as far as 1975 -- shortly before Sandusky founded the Second Mile. It won't be public until it's concluded, and it could go on as long as it needs to.

State and federal government entities are investigating the school, and the NCAA has decided to play cop as well. Adding an internal probe to the matter, you'd have to hope somebody's going to find out every step at which this all went wrong.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Second Mile, the charity for at-risk youth founded by former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky, is beginning the process of disbanding, according to its chief executive. Two weeks ago, Sandusky was indicted on dozens of counts of child sex abuse following a lengthy grand jury investigation. In the presentment, the grand jury accused Sandusky of using Second Mile to find and groom victims, ultimately leading to the sexual assault allegations.

From the New York Times:

David Woodle, the chief executive of the charity, known as Second Mile, said in an interview Friday that the foundation was seeking to transfer its programs to other nonprofit organizations. The Second Mile’s leaders are looking at a limited number of organizations that could, and would, carry forward the foundation’s work with disadvantaged youth. He would not say which organizations would be candidates.

“We’re working hard to figure out how the programs can survive this event,” Woodle said. “We aren’t protective of this organization that it survives at all costs.”

Second Mile has also launched its own investigation into the claims of abuse in an effort to answer what charity leaders knew and when. The investigation is expected to last at least a month.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

NCAA president Mark Emmert has written a letter to new Penn State president Rodney Erickson, advising that an NCAA investigation into the Jerry Sandusky travesty is underway, which is quite an ambitious task for a rulebook that organizes a basketball tournament.

 A portion of the letter, though the entire document is available here:

I am writing to notify you that the NCAA will examine Penn State's exercise of institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics programs, as well as the actions, and inactions, of relevant responsible personnel. We recognize that there are ongoing federal and state investigations and the NCAA does not intend to interfere with those probes.

Emmert cites Article 2.1 of the NCAA Constitution, which declares, "it is the responsibility of each member institution to control its intercollegiate athletic program in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Association. The institution's president or chancellor is responsible for the administration of all aspects of the athletics program," including the actions of staff members.

After listing a pair of bylaws Penn State will need to show it hasn't broken, Emmert closes with a series of questions on the school's "institutional control" in relation to the Sandusky grand jury report. Penn State will have to submit their responses to the NCAA's inquiry by December 16. 

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

There's been some question as to whether or not bowl games with Big Ten tie-ins would take the Penn State Nittany Lions in the wake of the large-scale campus that's rocked State College. Since word of the scandal broke, some sponsors have pulled out of broadcasts involving Penn State, leading many to wonder whether bowl games would pass the Nittany Lions over.

However, representatives from both the Rose Bowl and Capital One Bowl, however, said they'd be fine handing Penn State a bid, should its on-field performance warrant one.

Kevin Ash said Thursday that the Rose Bowl would let the Big Ten decide if there is a reason its champion shouldn't play the Pac-12 winner in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 2.

"Whoever the champions are," Ash said, "we'll welcome with open arms."

Via ESPN

The Rose Bowl has the first choice of Big Ten teams and is slated to take the winner of the Big Ten Championship. The Capital One Bowl is second in line for the Big Ten. Also of note: the TicketCity Bowl, which is the No. 7 Big Ten bowl tie-in, would gladly take Penn State. Glad that's settled.

Previously, interim head coach Tom Bradley told reporters rumors of Penn State declining a bowl bid are untrue. Penn State President Rod Erickson said the school has not yet made a decision about a bowl game, but also added he expects the school to play wherever it deserves to play.

Penn State wide receivers coach Mike McQueary has seen his role in the Jerry Sandusky story grow larger and larger as days go by. Since he was first identified as the 2002 eyewitness named in the grand jury report, he's been howled at for failing to stop Sandusky from allegedly raping a boy and failing to call the police.

He's said he did do both, though police have denied the latter. He's become enough of a celebrity that the CBS Evening News went 72-point font over a 20-second interview during which nothing was actually said.

But this might be one of the most bizarre developments yet. From the Citizen's Voice, a Luzerne County paper:

McQueary played in and Sandusky coached in the annual Easter Bowl benefiting Easter Seals Central Pennsylvania on March 28, 2002, according to a review of news archives from the time period. McQueary, a former Penn State quarterback, also played in a June 21, 2002, celebrity golf tournament benefitting Sandusky's charity, The Second Mile.

McQueary played in Second Mile golf tournament again in 2003 and was again on the field for the Easter Seals flag football game, with Sandusky coaching, in April 2004.

That Easter Bowl game was not even a month after McQueary allegedly saw Sandusky raping a child. The mind boggles at how the two could be on the same field days later, especially since McQueary has said he made sure Sandusky let the boy go, which implies a shower conflict of some sort. Previous obligations are previous obligations, but still.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Terry Pegula is just like every other Penn State alum, confused and shocked by the revelations in the sex abuse case that circles the university. But Pegula isn't just the average concerned member of the PSU community. 

He just gave the school $88 million to fund the construction of a Division 1 hockey arena, and thanks to that donation, Penn State will ice a Division 1 hockey team for the first time next fall. In a strong interview with TSN, Pegula said that he stands by that gift and by the university. 

"I wanted to make sure everyone knows I'm solidly behind Penn State hockey because others were using (the scandal) against us in our recruiting efforts," Pegula said. "I heard some of our recruits were maybe wavering a bit so I wanted to make sure they knew we're fully committed to running a first-class program that stands for all the right things. That's what we're all about."

Head coach Guy Gadowsky, who left a successful career with the Princeton Tigers to help get the Penn State hockey program off the ground, certainly seems to have an uphill battle in putting together his team in the wake of these allegations. It's no leap to suggest that many players may not be interested in playing hockey at Penn State in the face of everything that has been revealed in the last two weeks. 

Pegula is doing all he can to mitigate the impact of this scandal on the new hockey program, while still emphasizing that the "right things need to be done" and that "our concern and compassion should be for the children involved in these terrible allegations."

"This is not about covering your ass. Telling the truth now will go a long way towards getting everyone through this. If there's going to be a blind allegiance to anyone or anything here, it needs to be the university and to the truth...that's how we get to the bottom of what happened, that's how we get our image back."    

Pegula went on to say that the scandal shouldn't be blamed on the majority of the university community -- the students, the faculty, the alumni -- because they "can't be blamed for what happened." He asserted that taking away support for the hockey program would only punish a university community that "shouldn't put their head down."

For more on the ongoing Penn State scandal, check with this StoryStream. For more on the scandal, and everything in the world of Penn State athletics, check with Nittany Lions blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Based on a New York Times report (which police have denied), the total number of Jerry Sandusky's suspected victims who've either come forward or been detailed in the grand jury report has approached 20. That might not be all, especially if Sandusky keeps denying the charges on national television.

The Patriot-News reports "several" more have come forward since the interview, with one alleging Sandusky's behavior went back as far as 1977, while ABC News reports Sandusky's interview steeled a pair of witnesses into testifying. From the sound of it, they might otherwise have declined to get involved if not for Sandusky's defiance. 

Here's attorney Andy Shubin, from the Patriot-News report:

"I spent about half the day in kitchens and living rooms, speaking with victims of Sandusky's molestation and processing with them the effects of Jerry Sandusky being on television and Jerry Sandusky denying wrongdoing," Shubin said. "And what I found was that these folks are being re-traumatized."

For so many reasons, putting Sandusky on air was a baffling legal move. Here are a few more reasons why.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

As more and more comes out about former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky, we're starting to get a picture of a man who gave many people concerns over the years. Debra Long, the mother of Matthew Sandusky, one of the coach's adopted children, tells ABC News in an interview.

"My son was afraid of Jerry. If Jerry said don't talk, he didn't talk. I would sit back and watch when Jerry would show up, how excited Matt was," she said. "And then, as time went on, I would watch the same kid hide behind the bedroom door and say, 'Mom, tell him I'm not home.'"    

That's one side of one of the many stories involved here. Matthew has denied he was ever abused and brought his kids to visit Sandusky in jail. Family can be a tough thing for everybody, but Long is far from the only person to claim she was bothered by Sandusky long before the grand jury report was released.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Among the curious items uncovered by a Wednesday night New York Times report that gave a behind-the-scenes look at the grand jury investigation leading to former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky's indictment is the case of the missing Second Mile records. As investigators began to dig for clues, the attention turned to Second Mile, Sandusky's charity for at-risk youth. Authorities had been working to piece together a case against Sandusky at the time, but ran into road blocks along the way.

When the investigators subpoenaed Sandusky's travel records, as well as records that should show the names of the youth who passed through the program, Second Mile was unable to produce three years of files.

Much of the older paperwork was stored at an off-site records facility. The travel and expense records, for instance, had been sent over several years earlier. But select members of the charity’s board of directors were alarmed to learn recently that when the records facility went to retrieve them, some of those records — from about 2000 to 2003 — were missing.

Some of the records were later found and it could simply be that they were lost at some point along the way, but the years that came up missing are curious. At the time, the grand jury case centered around a 2002 incident in which Mike McQueary allegedly witnessed Sandusky assaulting a boy in the Penn State locker room. Without the records, though, investigators struggled to find the alleged victim.

For more on the investigation, check out the New York Times' report detailing how Sandusky's indictment came about from start to finish.

The New York Times published an extensive look into the investigation that resulted in former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky being changed with dozens of counts of sex crimes against minors. The detailed report, pieced together by Jo Becker, Pete Thamel and Mark Viera runs down the investigation from beginning to end, shining a light on how the grand jury came to its findings.

In an interesting twist, investigators hit a wall in 2010 before stumbling onto an Internet forum post that eventually led them to Mike McQueary.

Working off the brief mention on an Internet forum where people chatted about Penn State athletics, according to the two people with knowledge of the case, investigators narrowed their list of coaches likely to have seen something to Mike McQueary, then an assistant coach and the football program’s recruiting coordinator.

State College is a close-knit community. Word would get around that a Penn State coach had met with investigators. So investigators set up a meeting in an out-of-the-way parking lot, according to those with knowledge of the case.

Via

McQueary proved to be a key witness in the grand jury investigation after spilling what he allegedly saw in the locker room. And it was all, according to the New York Times, triggered by a bit of Internet sleuthing, resulting in the lead investigators needed to add another dimension to the case against Sandusky.

Matt Paknis was a Penn State graduate assistant, working with the offensive line, from 1987 to 1988. He was also abused as a child. When Jerry Sandusky was indicted for alleged sexual abuse of minors, it hit home for Paknis, and he wrote a lengthy blog entry about his time at Penn State, what he saw and how he viewed the program's patriarch, Joe Paterno.

Paknis' conclusion, drawn from his time working as a graduate assistant is simple: Paterno knows and controls everything in and around his program.

Joe Paterno knew and knows everything about what's happening in his program and in State College. He was / is the ultimate control freak. If Jerry committed these crimes it is impossible for me to think Joe was not aware and complicit.

Paknis adds that he never witnessed any abuse, but recalling memories of Sandusky makes him queasy. He has harsh words for Paterno, his "kingdom" and the absolute power the Nittany Lions' head coach held.

Give Paknis' piece a read and draw your own conclusions. He reveals a different portrait of Paterno and the Penn State program than had been portrayed prior to the scandal, gleaned from his short time as a graduate assistant.

Penn State assistant Mike McQueary claimed he spoke to police in an email circulated to friends and obtained by the Morning Call on Tuesday. The email seemed to contradict the grand jury presentment in the case against Jerry Sandusky, but also raised questions about what police knew and when. On Wednesday, two police agencies in State College spoke out, denying McQueary ever sought them out in 2002.

The statement from State College police actually has little bearing on McQueary's credibility at all. A spokesman explains:

"He didn't come to State College police. The crime happened on campus and we don't have jurisdiction on campus," King said. "We've had no reports (of Sandusky sexually abusing someone) from anybody."

The university police force, which does hold jurisdiction over the Penn State campus, also denies ever hearing from McQueary:

"This is the first we have heard of it," said Lisa Powers, Penn State's director of public information.

Both quotes via ESPN

But here's the problem: we can only take Penn State's word for it. Because PSU is exempt from information requests, it can't be compelled to release records unless subpoenaed by a court of law. Penn State won't release the records itself, citing an ongoing investigation, so it's one word against another.

There's another piece to the equation, as well: nobody knows what, exactly, McQueary said to the grand jury. The presentment only paints one picture, and doesn't serve as a transcript of the testimony. It's a summary, and for all we know his statements could line up, making this much ado about nothing.

This semantics argument matters, or will matter in the future, because McQueary's credibility is at stake. If he's making conflicting statements now, it calls into question his status as a credible witness, opening him up to attacks by the defense whenever the case against Sandusky goes to trial.

Or McQueary could be back-tracking and making different statements now than he had in the past, which would be a problem for the prosecution come trial time. The bottom line, however, is that it's likely too early to make any kind of judgment on whether or not he can be deemed credible in a trial situation.

As reporters go over every detail of the Penn State scandal, including employee records, e-mails and personal information, there are some details they will not be able to discover. You can thank recently-ousted school president Graham Spanier for that.

Spanier fought for and won an exemption from Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law that requires state employees and offices to provide all pertinent information to the taxpayers funding it.

The University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University are all also exempt from open records under the same ruling.

If you're wondering why specific details like Mike McQueary's salary, Jerry Sandusky's expenditures or internal emails related to Sandusky's alleged allegations haven't been released, this is the reason. The school is under no obligation to supply that information despite its status.

In the wake of the ongoing scandal, where university transparency has become a major issue, many voices are rising up against the exemption. A recent editorial from the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre calls for an amendment to state law to remove the exemption as soon as possible.

Given the questions about the child sex abuse scandal and that Spanier and football coach Joe Paterno are no longer in their positions because of what they might have known, the General Assembly must end this unfair exemption.

For more on this situation, be sure to check out Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries and follow along on the SB Nation Penn State Scandal stream.

The judge in the Jerry Sandusky trial has been replaced. Robert E. Scott will take over the case from Leslie Dutchot, who volunteered for Sandusky's charity and reportedly benefitted from a fund-raiser thrown by a Second Mile official. Dutchot came under scrutiny after she set Sandusky's bail at $100,000 and didn't order him to wear an ankle monitor after prosecutors requested that his bail be set at $500,000 and be monitored. 

According to a story at Pennlive.com, Dutchot did not volunteer extensively with Second Mile and never had any personal contact with Sandusky. Still, a Pennsylvania lawmaker requested that a superior court judge look into a potential conflict of interest. It's unclear if Rep. Mike Vereb's request to Justice Ronald Castille played any part in the decision to change judges in the Sandusky trial.

For the Penn State angle on this story, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries. 

Despite not being mentioned in the 23-page grand jury report, current interim Penn State football head coach Tom Bradley did testify during the grand jury investigation into former coach Jerry Sandusky, according to a report in the Patriot-News. It's unclear as to why Bradley's testimony was not included in the report, and Bradley has repeatedly declined to comment on the case, as it is ongoing.

Bradley did tell the Patriot-News that he shared a residence with assistant coach Mike McQuery for several months around 2006 or 2007. McQuery is at the center of the case, as he is testified during the grand jury that he witnessed Sandusky raping a young boy in a campus shower in 2002.

Bradley also said that while he may have shared a house with McQuery, they didn't necessarily interact very much. At the time, Bradley was spending most of his time at his home in Pittsburgh.

For more on this situation, be sure to check out Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

In the wake of a scandal that has gutted its athletic department, Penn State has named David Joyner its interim athletic director. Joyner replaces Tim Curley, who was placed on administrative leave and has been arrested and charged with perjury for his role in an alleged cover-up of Jerry Sandusky's molestation of young boys.

Joyner is a member of Penn State's Board of Trustees, and has been since 2000. He has deep roots in the Penn State community, was an All-American football player and wrestler in 1971, and received both an undergraduate and a medical degree from Penn State.

Joyner specializes in sports medicine, and is listed as the Corporate Medical Director of Occupational Athletics, Inc. in a bio on that company's website. Joyner has also served on multiple committee within the United States Olympic Committee, including on its Sports Medicine Committee and Anti-Doping Committee, and currently serves as the co-chairman of its Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

For more on Penn State, visit SB Nation's Black Shoe Diaries.

As Mike McQueary prepares to tell America his side of the story in a nationally-televised interview, details about his specific actions upon allegedly witnessing former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky sexually-assaulting a child remain murky.

According to an email McQueary sent to friends, "The truth is not out there fully." In the email, McQueary claims that he "didn't just turn and run," as has been speculated based on alleged testimony. 

"I made sure it stopped. I did the right thing ... you guys know me," he wrote, adding that he "had to make quick, tough decisions."

In the email, McQueary also contradicts the grand jury testimony by stating that he told Penn State University police about what he saw on the night in question.

According to University Police, no such interview or meeting ever took place. Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, both of whom have been accused of perjury, have both said that they never received any news or descriptions from McQueary.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors.

Penn St. Nittany Lions wide receivers coach Mike McQueary has played a complicated role in the Jerry Sandusky tragedy. He's the former graduate assistant who alerted Joe Paterno to Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse, but he also appeared in the grand jury report as something of a timid bystander. The barely informed layperson, thousands of college football fans, and Pennsylvania's governor alike have formed an opinion of McQueary as a hesitant careerist who neglected to stop an old man from assaulting a young boy.

McQueary has insisted to friends he did stop the attack, though, which makes you wonder just how awkward it must've been for McQueary and Sandusky to occupy the same building on campus for much of the subsequent decade. He's been described by family as desperate to clear his name and tell his side of the story, and it looks like that's about to happen. 

The CBS Evening News begins at 6:30 p.m. ET in most markets, 7 in others. Armen Keteyian handled interview duties.

@MilesDoranCBS Penn State asst. coach Mike McQueary speaks publicly for the first time to@CBSNews. TONIGHT on the@CBSEveningNews

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Tuesday morning, Bob Costas made reference to a portion of his interview with Jerry Sandusky that didn't air Tuesday night. That portion is below, via the New York Daily News, and it contains the most twisted thing Sandusky said during the entire piece.

When asked by Costas whether it really matters that Sandusky helped some children if all those efforts were just part of a way to secure relationships with other young boys, the former Penn State coach replied in part, "I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have-- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."

The complete question and answer:

BOB COSTAS:

19:00:28:00: "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come. So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D, and E. Isn't that possible?"

JERRY SANDUSKY:

19:01:01:00: "Well -- you might think that. I don't know. (LAUGHS) In terms of -- my relationship with so many, many young people. I would-- I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and-- and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have-- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways."

Why NBC chose to delay the release of that line, I'm not sure, but it's about as close to an admission that you're going to find. Imagine the second thoughts running through attorney Joe Amendola's mind during that moment.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. 

Tuesday, Bob Costas revealed on the Dan Patrick Show that Joe Amendola, lawyer for former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, was supposed to be the subject of Monday night's interview. But before taping, Amendola offered a telephone interview with Sandusky to Costas instead. For some reason.

In addition to the answers that made it to the air, Costas said Sandusky insisted his "methods" helped many children. 

Amendola said in a separate interview that the alleged victim described in the 2002 allegation may be "telling a different story" than the one described in the grand jury report. But Amendola isn't certain that they've found the right person.

The lawyer's decision-making has produced one of the very, very few amusing episodes in this story, since it's hard to figure out what he had to gain by putting an already vilified Sandusky in front of the public via a breathy phone connection with a vet like Costas prepped to handle the surprise. It's not the first time Amendola has made an unconventional life choice, though. 

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Graham Spanier, ousted Penn State University president, has also stepped down from his role on the board of U.S. Steel, a spokesperson confirmed to the Centre Daily. It's unclear whether he was forced out or resigned of his own volition, just as it's technically unclear how much pressure he was under to leave Penn State.

According to the report, Spanier earned $632,980 over the last three years for his participation on the board, a figure which nearly matched his Penn State compensation.

Interesting to note it was U.S. Steel's chairman and CEO, John Surma, who served as the point man during the PSU Board of Trustees' announcement that Joe Paterno had been fired. No remaining members of the board are known primarily for their affiliations with Penn State, for whatever that's worth.

Spanier came under fire for his role in failing to bring sex abuse claims against Jerry Sandusky to light. 

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Within hours of the Jerry Sandusky grand jury report's release, concerned fans and outsiders were calling for the Penn St. Nittany Lions to cancel their upcoming game against Nebraska, cancel the rest of the season, refuse an eventual bowl game invite, or disband the football program altogether for a few years.

As we can see, the first two of those haven't happened, and based on interim coach Tom Bradley's Tuesday press conference, the third and fourth sound unlikely as well.

@PeteThamelNYT Bradley also said that any rumors of Penn State not accepting a bowl invite are unture. And there will also be a season next year.    

There's a question of which bowl game would take a risk on associating themselves with Penn State at this point. After corporate sponsors and football recruits alike have broken ties with the school over the Sandusky cover-up scandal, it's not hard to foresee several bowl games, which all have corporation names as part of their official titles, choosing to do the same.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is doing an hour-long program on Jerry Sandusky and Penn State, to air at noon on Tuesday. At one point in the show, he interviews Troy Craig, identified as a former Second Mile camp attendee for four years. Craig tells Cooper that Sandusky often made him uncomfortable, but that it occurred at too young an age to register as "sexual perversion."

A portion of Craig's interview:

Cooper: Troy you attended Sandusky's Second Mile camp from age 11 to 14. When you were alone with him riding in cars, was there ever any incident where he did something?

Troy Craig: Anytime riding in a vehicle with him. I can remember clearly the first time that I got into the car, in the passenger seat, we were alone in the car, I mean I'm there with him for two seconds before the doors closed and his hand is on my left thigh and it stays there, and stays there the entire car ride, and from my place to campus is about 25 to 30 minutes.

Cooper: What did you think at the time?

Troy Craig:  I certainly didn't make any connection between his hand on my leg and any kind of sexual perversion. That didn't strike me as something possible between a grown man and a child. I just knew it was uncomfortable, and for me mainly because it made my leg hot.  It would be 20 minutes into the car ride and I almost wanted to give him my other leg because it would just stay there and every once in a while it would squeeze, but it didn't move. It made me uncomfortable.

Expect a lot of stories like this to come out. It's not going to be easy to judge who's telling the truth, but I can't imagine what an adult would have to gain from making up a claim like this.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Why did Joe Paterno allegedly never confront Jerry Sandusky about claims of sexual abuse?

In Monday night's interview with NBC's Bob Costas, Sandusky denied Paterno ever spoke to him about the 2002 rape allegation raised by then-GA Mike McQueary, despite Sandusky's lingering presence on campus up until October of this year. Unlike several of his other denials, Sandusky was emphatic on that one. 

While that was one of many points in the story where a lack of communication helped endanger children, there's a possibility it could stem from a relationship that had simply soured after decades of working together. Reconstructing the scene in your mind, it's hard to piece together why a head coach would put up with seeing an accused child molester on his campus for nine more years without following up, especially if they didn't get along. There's a difference here between trying to shield Penn State and trying to defend Sandusky, though.

From a 1999 Sports Illustrated piece gleaming with ignorant praise of Sandusky:

Working under Paterno takes something out of a man, too. Sandusky was asked last week if he'll miss Joe Pa. "Well, not exactly," he said. "You have to understand that so much of our time was spent under stress, figuring out how to win. That takes a toll. We've had our battles. I've quit. I've been fired. I've walked around the building to cool off." 

Paterno evidently felt the same tension:

"In staff meetings, it was getting to be 'We' and 'You' and it should be 'Us.' Jerry [Sandusky's] leaving gave me an opportunity to get that out of the way and do things I'm comfortable with," Paterno told the Centre Daily Times in January 2002.    

ht Black Shoe Diaries

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

On Nov. 8, FOX's Philadelphia affiliate reported the number of Jerry Sandusky's alleged victims had risen from the grand jury report's eight to something like 20. The New York Times now appears to have confirmed that report, saying, "close to 10 additional suspected victims have come forward to the authorities since the arrest." 

We'll hope they're talking about the same people, but this still goes to show how much worse this story is going to get before it dies down.

And it makes it that much more amazing that Sandusky has denied all charges on national television -- something like 20 people are lying, counting three witnesses? As Bob Costas noted in Monday night's interview, Sandusky must be the "unluckiest, most persecuted" man in the world for that to be true.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Jerry Sandusky denied being a pedophile Monday in his first interview since being arrested earlier this month. He did admit to showering with some of the young boys that he worked with over the years, which sometimes included physical "horseplay," but claims that it was always "without the intent of sexual contact."

The interview, which aired Monday evening on NBC's Rock Center, was conducted Bob Costas, who asked numerous direct questions about the allegations, including Joe Paterno's knowledge of the situation and Mike McQueary's testimony of seeing Sandusky raping a young boy in the showers of Penn State's athletic center.

Sandusky denied everything, though he did admit some remorse about putting himself in position for the allegations of sexual misconduct to be made.

"What are you willing to concede that you've done that was wrong and you wish you had not done it?" asked Costas.

"Well, in retrospect, I shouldn't have showered with those kids," said Sandusky.

You can read highlights (low points?) of Sandusky's answers, and you can watch the interview it in its entirety embedded below:

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Jerry Sandusky declared his innocence Monday night, telling Bob Costas in a telephone interview aired on NBC's Rock Center that he is not a pedophile and has no sexual attraction to young boys. Sandusky did admit to showering with some of the children that he's worked with over the years, as well as physical "horseplay," but maintains it was always "without the intent of sexual contact."

"I say that I am innocent of those charges," he said.

"Innocent? Completely innocent, and falsely accused in every aspect?" Costas asked. 

"Well, I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids, I have showered after workouts," Sandusky replied. "I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact. So if you look at it that way, there are things that ... would be accurate."

Sandusky admitted that he showered with a young boy the night that Mike McQueary claims he saw Sandusky forcibly raping a child, but he denied there was any sexual activity. "I would say that that's false," he said.

As for what McQueary's motive to lie might be, Sandusky refused to speculate. "You'd have to ask him that," he said.

When Costas asked what actually happened that night, Sandusky replied: "OK, we were showering and horsing around, and he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor," he said. "And we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel or horseplay."

That identity of the young boy was never discovered by the grand jury investigation, but Sandusky's attorney Joseph Amendola told Costas later in the program that he has identified that child, who apparently backs up Sandusky's version of events.  

"We expect we're going to have a number of kids, now how many of those so called eight kids, we're not sure, but we anticipate we're going to have at least several of those kids come forward and say, 'This never happened, this is me, this is the allegation, this never occurred,'" said Amendola. "In fact, one of the toughest allegations -- the McQueary allegation -- what McQueary said he saw, we have information that that child says that never happened."

"Until now," said Costas, "we were told that alleged victim could not be identified."

"Well, by the Commonwealth [of Pennsylvania]," said Amendola.

"You have identified him?" asked Costas.

"We think we have," said Amendola.

Costas also asked Sandusky about being confronted with the mother of one of his alleged victims in 1998. 

"During one of those conversations you said, 'I understand, I was wrong, I wish I could get forgiveness speaking now with a mother, I know I won't get it from you, I wish I were dead,'" Costas said. "A guy falsely accused, or a guy whose actions have been misinterpreted doesn't respond that way, does he?"

"I don't know, I didn't say to my recollection that I wish I were dead," Sandusky said. "I was hopeful that we could reconcile things."

In 2000, a janitor told his supervisor that he saw Sandusky performing oral sex on a young boy in the showers of Penn State's athletic facility, another charge that Sandusky flatly denied. 

"It seems that if all of these accusations are false, you are the unluckiest and most persecuted man that any of us has ever heard about," Costas said.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Sandusky replied. "I don't think that these have been the best days of my life."

Sandusky denied that Joe Paterno, Penn State's former head coach who was fired in the wake of the grand jury presentment, ever spoke to him about the allegations. He's also disturbed by the turmoil that's surrounded his former school in the wake of his arrest. 

"How would you think that I would feel about a university that I attended, about people that I worked with, about people that I care so much about, how do you think i would feel about it? I feel horrible," he said.

"Do you feel guilty?" Costas asked. "Do you feel as if its your fault?"

"No, I don't think it's my fault. I obviously played a part in this," Sandusky said.

"How would you define the part that you played?" Costas asked. "What are you willing to concede that you've done that was wrong and you wish you had not done it?"

"Well, in retrospect, I shouldn't have showered with those kids."

Near the end of the interview, Costas asked Sandusky if he was sexually attracted to young boys. Sandusky repeated the question before answering. 

"Am I sexually attracted to underage boys? Sexually attracted? You know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. I ... but no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys."

Costas ended his interview by telling Sandusky that while he's presumed innocent in court, a lot of people have looked at the mountain of evidence working against him and have already made up their mind. "Millions of Americans who didn't know Jerry Sandusky's name until a week ago now regard you not only as a criminal, and I say this in I think a considered way, but as some sort of monster. How do you respond them?"

"I don't know what I can say, or what I could say, that would make anybody feel any different now," Sandusky said. "I would just say that as somehow people could hang on until my attorney has a chance to fight, you know, for my innocence. That's about all I could ask right now. Obviously it's a huge challenge."

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has denied charges of sexual abuse in an interview with NBC's Bob Costas, but has admitted to other behavior that almost everyone would still find entirely inexcusable. The interview is scheduled to air at 10 pm ET Monday night.

A portion of the interview made available by NBC:

"I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their legs without intent of sexual contact," said Sandusky.    

So, yeah, what he admits to is still plenty terrible. Sandusky also granted to Costas that he "shouldn't have showered with those kids," later going on to say he enjoys "being around children." 

With Mike McQueary insisting he stopped Sandusky from allegedly abusing a boy in Penn State's locker room, this is turning into an evening of which few lawyers would approve. 

Update: Read Jerry Sandusky's interview with Bob Costas. 

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Penn State wide receivers coach Mike McQueary, who allegedly witnessed former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the showers of the school's athletic center in 2002, told friends and former teammates in an email last week that he "made sure it stopped," according to Peter Alexander of NBC Nightly News. McQueary, who hasn't been charged with any wrongdoing, has also reportedly hired a lawyer.

The grand jury presentment released on Nov. 5 seemed to indicate that McQueary saw Sandusky but left without stopping the abuse before phoning his father for advice and informing Joe Paterno. He hasn't spoken publicly about the incident but has been the target of public criticism for his apparent inaction -- including from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who launched the investigation into Sandusky while serving as the state's Attorney General. From the email obtained by NBC Nightly News:

I did the right thing...you guys know me...the truth is not out there fully...I didn't just turn and run...I made sure it stopped...I had to make quick tough decisions.

Alexander's report, which aired Monday evening, is embedded below:

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

We've yet to find the NCAA's clear path into the Penn State scandal, but you just knew the BCS would be affected in one way or another. Former school president Graham Spanier, who resigned hours before a Board of Trustees house-cleaning press conference, was the Big Ten's BCS representative and chairman of the BCS presidential oversight committee.

He won't be replaced immediately, as BCS executive director* Bill Hancock told CBS Sports. The process could take weeks and will likely be left up to computers that don't account for degrees of success and interviews with people who've never observed the candidates. I only made up the last two parts.

The oversight committee includes one rep from each FBS conference, including the presidents of Alabama, USC, and Notre Dame. They meet to talk about BCS stuff.

* As always, you can leave out that title. Bill Hancock is the entire BCS.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany announced Monday that former (former!) Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno's name will no longer remain on the conference's football title game trophy, which had been named the Stagg-Paterno Trophy. It's now just the Stagg Championship Trophy.

Delany:

We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno's name on the trophy at this time. The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. We believe that it's important to keep the focus on the players and the teams that will be competing in the inaugural championship game.    

The family of Amos Alonzo Stagg, the Stagg in Stagg-Paterno, has expressed displeasure in being associated with the Penn State debacle. Stagg coached football, basketball, and baseball at Big Ten-founding Chicago, also serving as athletic director. His Big Ten career lasted 30 years and included two football national championships and seven Big Ten crowns.

It was always kind of awkard that Paterno's name appeared on the trophy anyway, since he hadn't even retired yet when it was unveiled and spent fewer than 20 years in the Big Ten.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Jack Raykovitz, president and CEO of the Second Mile, has resigned, Sara Ganim reports. Raykovitz had been with the charity since 1983, six years after Jerry Sandusky founded it. Shortly after the news broke, the charity released a statement that read in part as follows:

We will conduct an internal investigation to assess our internal policies, procedures and processes and make recommendations regarding the organization’s future operations.

Raykovitz' biography page on the Second Mile site appears to have been removed several years ago, but it was pretty much just a photograph of him anyway. He's a psychologist by trade, having studied at Penn State and Rutgers.

The charity has been called into question regarding what it knew about sexual abuse allegations against Sandusky and when. The former Penn State coach said he told the foundation he was under grand jury investigation in 2008. Raykovitz testified at Sandusky's grand jury trial in April of this year.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

This part only upsets people, but it mostly reminds us again how hard it is to disentangle an institution from a person who's been a part of it for almost 50 years. Jerry Sandusky is still earning a Penn State University pension, according to the Patriot-News, as is Gary Schultz, the former vice president who allegedly helped cover up Sandusky's sex crimes.

The school pays Sandusky $58,898 per year, while Schultz makes $331,000 annually, according to the report, though Schultz' could be forfeited depending on the outcome of his perjury trial. Ousted president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley did not participate in the pension plan.

The Patriot-News also reports Joe Paterno will draw a pension, but there's no word yet on how much he'll pull in.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

When Jerry Sandusky's bail was set at $100,000 unsecured, considerably more lenient than the prosecution's suggestion of $500,000 and monitoring, it raised a few eyebrows. Due to the terrible nature of the allegations contained in the grand jury indictment of Sandusky, it's understandable that many felt uncomfortable with the idea of him walking around freely without an ankle bracelet. Even more questions are about to be asked about the nature of that ruling.

On Sunday, Deadspin connected the dots and figured out that Judge Leslie Dutchcot, the judge who set Sandusky's bail, is a volunteer at Sandusky's charity The Second Mile. The 'unsecured' part of 'unsecured bail' means that Sandusky won't have to pay anything if he shows up to all of his required court appearances in a timely fashion.

Accusing Dutchcot of any kind of preferential treatment would be unfair, but surely as a volunteer at The Second Mile, she at least had some idea of who Jerry Sandusky was and that he was affiliated with the charity. Rescuing herself from judicial responsibilities in this case due to a possibility of a perceived conflict of interest probably would have been the best move.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

On Friday night, Penn State University received an anonymous bomb threat for Beaver Stadium. Today, the Nittany Lions host Nebraska at noon, so this threat was taken very seriously. Beaver Stadium has been secured since Tuesday given the mess that has gone on in Happy Valley, but police have used bomb-sniffing dogs to check the stadium and no bombs or suspicious items were found.

Given the circumstances in Happy Valley, there is increased security for today's game at Beaver Stadium. The inspections prior to entering the game are expected to be more thorough than usual, to prevent anything out of the ordinary happening on what's sure to be a very emotional Penn State crowd for the first Nittany Lions game without Joe Paterno since 1966.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

The Penn State community is hurting after the campus was blind-sided by the allegations of sex abuse levied against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky last week. An emotional week that included Joe Paterno being fired, an embarrassing riot and what seemed like a torrent of terrible details about the case came to a close on Friday night with a candlelight vigil for the victims of the alleged abuse on the Penn State campus. It was the beginning of the healing process for the students and community as a whole

Student leaders spoke and read letters to the large crowd gathered in front of Old Main. LaVar Arrington, though, maybe have delivered the most powerful speech. Below are some of the excerpts.

Arrington says this is a wake up call and a time to protect one another. "I'm honored and humbled to be able to speak with you." — @DailyCollegian via Twitter

Photos from the candlelight vigil can be found here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

A large crowd is gathered in front of Old Main on the Penn State campus on Friday night to hold a candlelight vigil for the victims of the alleged sex abuse scandal that's rocked the football program, and the university as a whole, over the course of the last week. It's been one week since word of Jerry Sandusky's grand jury indictment was leaked, and details continue to emerge. Since the initial report, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno has been fired, university president Graham Spanier has resigned and many others are on leave.

But Friday night is a time for healing, for the Penn State students to come together peacefully and remember the victims. A crowd of around 10,000 was expected and judging by the photos from State College it would seem the projections were correct.

via Andy Staples

Here's a few from the other side.

via UPUA

Good on you, Penn State students, alumni and anyone else in attendance.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

This is likely all a semantics argument, but Penn State wide receivers coach Mike McQueary's father says his son is not in State College, but also isn't in protective custody. Earlier, McQueary reportedly told the Nittany Lions' wide receivers he was no longer their coach and that he was in protective custody away from State College. McQueary has come under fire for not calling police after allegedly witnessing former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky abusing a child in the locker room in 2002.

While his father did say McQueary is not being guarded, he did have time for a joke.

"Actually I should tell you yes, he's surrounded by 80 guards. I should tell you they're all armed with bazookas," John McQueary told ESPN.com. "But to the best of my knowledge that's not true."

While McQueary isn't being guarded, he is away from his home for his own protection, it would seem. In other words, it sounds as if something was crossed up in the original message to the players -- or misinterpreted -- but McQueary is still in seclusion, though not in custody anywhere.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Update: McQueary is not in protective custody but is not in State College, his father says.

Mike McQueary was placed in protective custody at a secluded area away from State College, according to a report on Friday. Using information gathered from team sources, the Patriot News reports McQueary spoke with the wide receivers on Friday, telling them he's in protective custody and is "done."

Below is a portion of the conversation, reported by David Jones.

During a brief and emotional conversation, McQueary told them, “I wanted to let you guys know I'm not your coach anymore. I'm done.”

When players asked, "Coach, where are you? Can we see you?" McQueary responded, “No, I'm actually in protective custody. I'm not in State College.”

McQueary added that he was, "Double-fisting it," meaning he was having two drinks at once.

Considering the emotionally-charged environment in State College, there was almost no chance his safety could be assured in town at this time. McQueary has drawn fire in recent days for failing to call police after seeing Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a child in the Penn State locker room. Since the grand jury report was released, McQueary's job status has been in question, with officials choosing to keep him away from Beaver Stadium for this weekend's game against Nebraska.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Out of nowhere, a report emerged on Friday morning indicating Virginia head coach Mike London was contacted to gauge his interest succeeding Joe Paterno at Penn State shortly before the Board of Trustees voted to oust the Nittany Lions' long-time coach. London was reportedly uninterested in taking the job, but it created an interesting sub-plot in the Penn State story, at least for a moment.

But when asked for a statement, London completely denied ever hearing from Penn State in the first place.

"I don't even want to start to get into all that stuff like that," said London. "No, I haven't heard from them, and I don't expect to. ...

"I can tell you no one (from Penn State) has reached out to me, or talked to me. It's way, way, way, way premature for anyone to credibly think that's the case."

Probably safe to shoot this one down for now. While London may get a look in the future, it's unlikely serious discussions have taken place regarding the next coach as Penn State deals with the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Just about 24 hours after rumors surfaced indicating Joe Paterno planned to hire a lawyer, his son, Scott, released a statement confirming the family has hired legal representation. In the statement, Scott Paterno said his father would like to speak with the public but can't, and is distraught over what allegedly happened to the children.

The portion of the statement relating the legal representation is below.

On behalf of my father, I have retained Wick Sollers at the law firm of King and Spalding.  My father's desire is for the truth to be uncovered and he will work with his lawyers to that end.  Going forward, Mr. Sollers has directed my father, our family and everyone associated with us to make no further public statements and to respond to no media inquiries.  We will honor this request. Accordingly, all requests for comments or other information should be directed to Mr. Sollers.

The full statement can be found here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn State wide receivers coach Mike McQueary has been placed on administrative leave, new interim president Rodney Erickson announced Friday. Erickson would not comment, specifically, on what provoked the administration's decision, saying only that it had become clear that McQueary was unable to serve in a coaching capacity. 

McQueary was identified as the graduate assistant who saw former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky molest a 10-year-old boy in the Penn State locker rooms in 2002. He has earned the ire of fans and media for not contacting the police immediately following the incident, instead passing the information to head coach Joe Paterno, who in turn passed the information up to athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz. Paterno, Curley and Schultz, along with university president Graham Spanier, are no longer with university due to their inaction.

McQueary's leave reportedly will be paid. It was announced Thursday that McQueary has received multiple threats and would not be on the sideline for Saturday's game against Nebraska.

As for McQueary's overall job security, Penn State can't afford to rush into any decisions. As Sara Ganim, crime reporter for the Harrisburg Patriot-Times, pointed out on Twitter, there are whistle-blower laws that Penn State must consider.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Update: Travis Perry, Greer High School's athletic director, has informed Ben Jones of Black Shoe Diaries that Jerry Sandusky was never at a practice or a game and never recruited Ah Ching, calling Ah Ching's statements to the contrary to WYFF, the NBC affiliate for Greenville, S.C., "false and untrue." As of 5:25 p.m. (EST) on Friday, WYFF's story has not been edited.

We knew former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky still held a position within the program despite retiring more than a decade ago, maintaining an office and access to all football facilities. We know he's alleged to have used much of that access for evil, too. And we also know Joe Paterno and Tim Curley knew of the allegations and the grand jury investigation, but still allowed him on campus up until the week of his arrest.

And now we're learning Sandusky was reportedly still in contact with a Penn State recruit while under grand jury investigation for child sexual abuse.

According to Adam Ah Ching, a 2012 South Carolina linebacker with offers from BYU and Georgia Tech, among others, that's the case. From WYFF4.com:

"He came to my last spring game going into my senior season. He liked how I moved, laterally, and how gifted I am," said Ah Ching.

But days after Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing young boys, leading to the firing of football coach Joe Paterno and university President Graham Spanier, Ah Ching scratched Penn State off his list of where he'd continue his football career.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

Penn State's Board of Trustees has put together a committee to investigate the school's failings throughout the course of the Jerry Sandusky story. Led by Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, the committee will run alongside an investigation by the state attorney general into the university, plus a federal investigation by the Department of Education.

Remarks from Frazier given at a public board meeting Friday morning.

"We are conducting a thorough investigation," Frazier said. "If you want to do things in five minutes, you can do things in five minutes. We want to be thorough."

"Sexual abuse, and in particular child sexual abuse, is unacceptable in any setting, and has no place especially at Penn State," Frazier said.

Lots of investigations going on. Yep.

Related: Jerry Sandusky fallout, replacing Joe Paterno, and Penn State's movement to support sexual abuse survivors. For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. More college football news.

No one can change the past for the victims of the ongoing Jerry Sandusky child molestation investigation, but a group of Penn State alums has started a fundraiser to help victims of sexual abuse and make America a safer place for children.

Jerry Needel is leading a campaign to raise money for Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. The initiative is called Proud to Be a Penn Stater and it has already found large success through a social media initiative featuring the Twitter hashtag #ProudPSAforRAINN.

Via SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries:

We asked you to remember the actual victims in these tragedies. We asked you to remember that Penn State is NOT a failed university administration, but the thousands of students, alumni, and faculty who have lived their lives by upholding the values of Success With Honor.

Needel was recently featured on ABC's New York affiliate:

As of 11:30 a.m. ET on Friday, the initiative had already raised more than $87,000 for the cause. To donate, visit ProudtobeaPennStater.com.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Back on Monday or Tuesday, speculating about what kind of effects the still-blooming Penn State mushroom cloud might have on recruiting felt crass and months premature. But whether we like it or not, it's already having an effect. So let's talk about it.

Four-star 2012 offensive lineman Joey O'Connor has decommitted from Penn State, saying he "just wanted to relieve some of this pressure off of me with everything that is going on." O'Connor, a Colorado native, has picked up offers from like the entire Pac-12. At one point, he looked to be the recruit that was going to save an at-the-time lackluster class.

The Nittany Lions class has slipped to No. 21 overall, according to Rivals.

And shortly after the news broke, Noah Spence, a five-star defensive end and Rivals' top player in Pennsylvania, tweeted the following:

nspence94 Um psu might be a no no for me ewwww 7 Nov

Spence hasn't committed anywhere yet, but Penn State had hoped to obtain his services. He later apologized and said he'd keep an open mind. He has offers from pretty much everywhere.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

The Penn State community was rocked by scandal over the course of the past week as numerous allegations of child sex abuse were levied against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. And while the students took criticism for Wednesday night's "riots," or protest following the announcement that Joe Paterno was fired, they deserve praise for what's planned on Friday.

Instead of the traditional Friday night pep rally, the students reportedly plan to hold a candlelight vigil.

#PSU students canceled pep rally tomorrow, have candlelight vigil for victims. Expecting 8,000-10,000

Additionally, those coming to Saturday's game against Nebraska were asked to wear blue to raise awareness for child abuse. Where Wednesday night's rally was ugly and destructive, Friday's planned candlelight vigil presents an opportunity for the Penn State students and community to begin the healing process and focus on what's important here: the victims.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Cars.com has pulled its sponsorship of two ESPN College Football Saturday broadcasts, according to a report on Thursday. Both broadcasts involve Penn State: the first is the Nittany Lions matchup with Nebraska this weekend and the second is the Penn State vs. Ohio State game next weekend. The move is temporary and appears to come as a result of the scandal that's rocked the Penn State campus in the wake of sex abuse allegations levied against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

It's unclear whether more sponsors would pull out of broadcasts involving Penn State, but ad agencies may be mulling it over.

Gary Carr, senior vp/executive director of national broadcast for media-buying agency TargetCast tcm -- who doesn't have any clients in these games -- said: "I would probably pull out." Still another media executive said: "We are asking the question; we haven't decided yet."

It's unclear whether more companies would follow Cars.com or if many are considering pulling their sponsorship dollars out.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Penn State assistant Mike McQueary will not coach this weekend after receiving multiple threats ahead of the Nittany Lions matchup with Nebraska. McQueary will not be at Saturdays game at all, staying away from the stadium completely instead of coaching from the press box as some had hypothesized he would.

The statement from Penn State is below.

Due to multiple threats made against Assistant Coach Mike McQueary, the University has decided it would be in the best interest of all for Assistant Coach McQueary not to be in attendance at Saturday's Nebraska game.

McQueary has come under fire for failing to call police after allegedly witnessing Jerry Sandusky rape a young child in the shower in the Penn State locker room in 2002. McQueary was a graduate assistant at the time and told head coach Joe Paterno of the incident the next day, after consulting with his father.

It remains unclear what McQueary's role with the team will be going forward.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Joe Paterno has not hired a defense attorney, contrary to earlier reports on Thursday. MSNBC has amended its original report and now claims Paterno has reached out to a criminal defense attorney to represent him, but discussions have not progressed any farther. Paterno was ousted as head coach of Penn State on Wednesday night amidst a growing scandal involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

The amended report can be found below.

Joe Paterno has reached out to a prominent Washington criminal defense lawyer to represent him in the Penn State sex abuse case, a source close to the case told NBC News.

J. Sedgwick Sollers, who once represented President George H.W. Bush in the Iran-Contra affair, was contacted by Paterno's advisers on Thursday. But Sollers has not yet met with Paterno, and a formal retainer agreement has not been signed.

While Paterno may hire an attorney at some point, likely as a precaution in the event he faces civil action or has to testify in a criminal case. But at this point, only early conversations have taken place, and no agreement has been reached.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

The Penn State football team will take the field for Senior Day on Saturday, and according to a report on Thursday night coaches asked that friends and family of the players wear white in support of Joe Paterno.

Multiple sources connected with the Penn State football team tell TMZ ... coaches held a meeting with players today and told them their friends and family should show support for ousted coach Joe Paterno by wearing white to the game on Saturday.

The veracity of the report is unknown, but if true, this seems like a bad idea all around. The players and coaching staff are loyal to Paterno -- that's understandable. But asking for friends and family to wear white when a huge movement to have those in attendance wear blue to support victims of child abuse seems unsavory. Going against an established, and great, cause would seem to create a volatile situation in a stadium that will already be incredibly emotionally charged.

Again, nothing about the report has been confirmed, and who knows if this will actually take place. As of now, the Penn State community has asked fans to wear blue as a symbol of support for the victims.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

It has been repeated multiple times that former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will not be charged as part of the State of Pennsylvania's case against former coach Jerry Sandusky, who is alleged to have sexually-abused eight children during and after his time with the school.

That said, Paterno is still going to be a part of the testimony and isn't taking any chances in case criminal charges do arise. He has hired "a prominent Washington criminal defense lawyer to represent him."

The specific law firm is not being reported at the moment.

Many are speculating if there are specific reasons Paterno has hired a criminal defense lawyer, though at the moment it appears that it could just be a natural decision given his situation.

Even if he is never named in the criminal charges, there is a possibility he could be named in civil charges by one of the many victims later on.

EDIT: Paterno has reportedly hired J. Sedgwick Sollers.

EDIT 2: Paterno has reached out to, but not hired, Sollers.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

After Penn State interim head football coach Tom Bradley announced that embattled assistant Mike McQuery would remain with the team in some capacity this Saturday against Nebraska, the Board of Trustees let it be known that they preferred if McQuery were not on the sidelines during the game.

When asked directly, interim Penn State President Rod Erickson gave the distinct impression that the chances McQuery will still be with the team at all come Saturday are diminishing.

When asked if McQueary was still on staff, acting PSU president Rod Erickson said "as I said, you'll hear more."

Interim PSU president Rod Erickson said of McQueary "you may hear something later this evening or tomorrow morning."

At this point, it's hard to believe McQueary will still be with the program by Saturday, one more casualty of the scandal.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

According to Fox 29 in Philadelphia, former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky is facing up to 460 years in jail if convicted on all 40 offenses he is accused of in the grand jury indictment.

Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing or molesting eight underage victims over a 14-year period during and after his time as Penn State's defensive coordinator.

Sandusky faces six first-degree felonies for deviate sexual intercourse, four counts for first-degree felonies for Unlawful Contact with a Minor, one second-degree felony charge for aggravated indecent assault and nine types of third-degree felony charges. He also faced twenty misdemeanor charges.

Meanwhile, Sandusky could also face more criminal charges in San Antonio, home of the Alamo Bowl. Sandusky is accused of taking one of his victims to the 1999 Alamo Bowl. The victim resisted the advances of Sandusky and was told he would be sent home early if he did not comply.

Bexar County First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg says they are in the midst of a preliminary inquiry and have very little in the way of evidence or context at the moment.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Pennsylvania Governor and member of the Penn State Board of Trustees Tom Corbett spoke with the media Thursday afternoon about the ongoing investigation into Penn State and the child sex abuse charges that have rocked the campus.

On former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno and former President Graham Spanier:

I was disappointed in their actions. I support the boards decision. Their actions cause me to not have confidence in their ability to lead.

On whether or not Joe Paterno will face criminal charges:

The Attorney General already said that Paterno would not be subject to criminal charges.

On what he said to the Board during the debate whether or not to fire Paterno and Spanier:

We must remember that 10-year-old child and those other children.

On the lack of oversight and abuse of power during the cover-up:

I''ve seen many instances where people of power believe they were beyond the law.

On how important it is for children to be protected:

When it comes to the safety of children, there can be no margin for error, no hesitation to act.

On Penn State employees working with charities like the one Jerry Sandusky worked with:

Relationships between outside charities and the university certainly have to be looked at.

On the students, Wednesday night's riots and how Penn State fans can show support moving forward:

Come together...you had student leaders come together earlier today on the steps of Old Main. Show solidarity with the victims. [Violent rioters are] Knuckleheads. You have a passion? Great. ...Violence is a knucklehead."

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

President Barack Obama believes that, if the Penn State child sex-abuse allegations are true, then "what happened is outrageous," said a White House spokesman.

"The president's thoughts and prayers, and all our thoughts and prayers, are with the victims of the abuse and the family members of those victims."

"...what I can say is that if the allegations of what happened up there prove true, what happened is outrageous," Presidential press secretary Jay Carney said.

The White House refused to comment in detail on the decisions made to fire longtime football coach Joe Paterno and President Graham Spanier. Both were fired by the Penn State Board of Trustees on Wednesday.

Obama and the White House made no comment on the Penn State student riots from Wednesday night.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Less than 24 hours ago Joe Paterno was the head coach of Penn State. Now, not only is he out of a job, he won't even be in the stadium when the Nittany Lions host the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a pivotal Big Ten matchup on Saturday. According to ESPN's Joe Schad, Paterno will not attend the game to avoid any more of a spectacle than what has already transpired.

If you haven't been following along, Penn State's campus was overrun by thousands of student protesters on Wednesday night after the school's Board of Trustees announced that Paterno had been fired for failing to notify the police upon being informed of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's alleged molestation of a 10-year-old boy in the team's locker room back in 2002. The news that the head coach of 46 years has been let go has, unsurprisingly, incurred the full spectrum of emotions among fans and media members alike.

The Nittany Lions are currently undefeated in the Big Ten and vying for a spot in the league's inaugural championship game. On top of all of the off field distractions, the team also faces its toughest three-game stretch of the season, with road trips to Columbus, OH, and Madison, WI, on tap after Saturday.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow our comprehensive StoryStream.

Penn St. Nittany Lions interim head coach Tom Bradley told reporters Thursday that Mike McQueary, the former GA who reported the 2002 Jerry Sandusky allegation to Joe Paterno, will remain in his capacity as an assistant and will be with the team in some form this Saturday.

The Penn State Board of Trustees have now asked Bradley to keep McQueary off the field during Saturday's nationally-televised game against Nebraska.

The trustee told The Morning Call in an exclusive interview that the board made the request out of concern for McQueary's safety.

According to the Morning Call, the board does not plan to fire McQueary or ask him to step down. This according to a trustee who has asked not to be identified.

Expect Bradley to comply with the BOT and keep McQuery off the field. Likely he'll end up in one of the coaching booths, if he's even in the stadium at all.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

We have all sorts of Penn State riot videos, photos, and first-hand accounts here, but one thing we've lacked is big-picture numbers and facts on the aftermath. Word spread throughout the night about two arrests, but police are still tracking down the official final number.

The Associated Press reports "about 100 police wearing helmets and carrying pepper spray" were on the scene. Tear gas was also used at one point, and batons were brandished. At one point, claims of police dogs broke up a large cluster of humanity. Hard to say whether police dogs were actually used as a threat, but it definitely doesn't seem any were loosed.

Expect more throughout the coming days on arrests, damage, and injuries as officials put pieces together.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

In light of the showy but evocative riots that spread across Penn State's campus Wednesday night, it's understandable some might worry about playing a Big Ten football game in front of 100,000 people only days later. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are scheduled to be in town, and one University of Nebraska regent has expressed concerns:

Regent Tim Clare of Lincoln said he began worrying about safety while watching televised coverage of the scene in State College, Pa., after coach Joe Paterno's firing Wednesday night. He said Penn State has a raucous atmosphere on a normal football Saturday, and the school owes Nebraska answers.

This isn't really the same kind of thing as when Louisville was reportedly thinking about keeping its cheerleaders out of Morgantown. It's the job of higher-ups to think of stuff like this to be concerned about. I'd expect a peaceful afternoon, with many older fans and alums in the building, along with a few days worth of cooldown for emotional students. But it would probably still be wise for police to field an increased presence.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

To some surprise, NCAA president Mark Emmert has commented on the disaster unfolding at Penn State University. Most had assumed Jerry Sandusky's alleged crime spree and the resulting apparent cover-up were outside of the NCAA's realm, but it looks like Emmert at least wants to make sure that's the case.

Here's Emmert:

Regarding the ongoing Penn State criminal investigation, the NCAA is actively monitoring developments and assessing appropriate steps moving forward. The NCAA will defer in the immediate term to law enforcement officials since this situation involved alleged crimes. As the facts are established through the justice system, we will determine whether Association bylaws have been violated and act accordingly. To be clear, civil and criminal law will always take precedence over Association rules.    

Penn State's mistakes didn't involve student-athletes, so it's hard to say exactly what the NCAA could rule on here. But as long as Penn State wants to play by the NCAA's rules, the NCAA can sort of do whatever it wants. The NCAA can't make Penn State shutter its football program, but it could find a reason to refuse to sanction it for a time, if it wanted to.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Tom Bradley, longtime Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, was introduced as the team's interim coach at a Thursday morning press conference. Bradley is taking over for Joe Paterno, who you may have heard has coached in Happy Valley for 61 years. Paterno was fired Wednesday night due to the ongoing Jerry Sandusky scandal.

"I take this job with very mixed emotions," Bradley said, seated in front of a blue Nittany Lions backdrop and wearing a gold tie. He mentioned team meetings, hearing from former players who will attend on Saturday, planned meetings with recruits, and a captains' gathering in preparation of the Nebraska game.

"The football part, we'll get working on that right away," Bradley said, "For now, you should know our team's thoughts and prayers are with those children and their families."

Bradley said Mike McQueary, the former GA who reported the 2002 Sandusky allegation to Paterno, will remain in his capacity as an assistant, but didn't say where he'd be positioned in the stadium. He also declared Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden will take over as co-coordinators on defense.

When asked about whether Penn State will play any games after the Nebraska game, he boggled a little bit. "What do you mean?" he said, eventually saying the rest of the season is up to the school's administration, but he hopes to finish it out. He said canceling games hasn't been discussed.

"Joe Paterno has meant more to me than anybody but my father," Bradley said, adding that he's comfortably coached on the sideline before with Paterno either in the press box or unavailable.

He also said, "Coach Paterno will go down in history as one of the greatest men -- most of you know him as a football coach -- I've had the privilege to work with him. He's had a dynamic impact on so many, so many -- I'll say I, so many -- people and player's lives. I'm proud to say that I worked with him."

He was asked many times about Paterno's exit, but declined to comment on the investigation, Sandusky, McQueary's role, his own future as a potential non-interim coach, Paterno's firing and so forth, deferring the McQueary question to acting athletic director Mark Sherburne.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with sexually abusing eight children, with something like a dozen more also claiming they were victimized. That's horrible. Powerful PSU figures appear to have attempted to cover up what they knew. That makes it even worse.

But if one rumor turns out to be true, this may become a story too awful to compare to any other.

There's been nothing reported by an investigative journalist or law enforcement official so far, but a handful of media members are talking about investigations into whether Sandusky may have shared some of his victims with other adult males.

From two days ago, here's Dan Bernstein of CBS Chicago:

@dan_bernstein FYI: names are being x-checked w/Sandusky's Second Mile, and there are other older adult men with "curious" relationships. Only the start.    

Thursday morning, Mark Madden, a Pittsburgh radio host with a minimal journalistic reputation who wrote a story seven months ago envisioning Sandusky's downfall, went on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Morning Show to discuss the scandal. At the 7:15 mark here, he's asked about the "next shoe to drop." Here are his remarks:

I can give you a rumor, and I can give you something I think might happen. I hear there's a rumor that there will be a more shocking development from the Second Mile foundation. And, hold on to your stomachs because this is gross, I'll use the only language that I can, that Jerry Sandusky and Second Mile were pimping out young boys to donors. This is being investigated by two prominent columnists as I speak.

Madden also speculates it'll be revealed that Sandusky was told to retire as part of a cover-up.

CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel tweeted the following later in the morning, appearing to cite a source besides Madden:

@greggdoyelcbs I'm told Penn's atty general has this sick Sandusky rumor on the radar. Warning, awful read http://t.co/Wy4uiuiD

We can hope none of this is true, but multiple outlets are saying it's being investigated. If it is, let's then hope investigators are able to find it never happened.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

When you first heard about the allegations made against former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, you probably wanted somebody, anybody to do something about them. The whole problem is that nobody did anything about Sandusky's alleged crimes for a long time, and now Happy Valley has been torn apart trying to figure out who exactly has to do something.

The federal government is inserting itself, the Board of Trustees did what Joe Paterno wasn't willing to do, and Sandusky, along with AD Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, is going to court.

But since this involves sports, many people have called for the NCAA to do something, too. As Boston College sports law professor Warren Zola tells the New York Daily News, the NCAA doesn't really have jurisdiction here:

No student-athletes are involved, for now, and nothing benefitted the teams of the institution for a competitive advantage. You and I may have a different interpretation on lack of institutional control, but under the NCAA's, I don't see it. The only thing I could see, if convicted, would be placing a ban on individual coaches.

Penn State, the school, is being investigated by the Department of Education. Everyone who failed to take the allegation against Sandusky to an authority (if you accept that Curley wasn't really Paterno's authority) has been fired or arrested. The current players, future players, and remaining coaches didn't do anything wrong, and thus shouldn't be punished.

What would be the punishment, anyway? A postseason ban and loss of scholarships? For how long? If Boise State lost scholarships for years over some cheeseburgers, what's the multiplier the NCAA should use to figure out what covering up 40 counts of child sex abuse is worth?

We could say the NCAA should shut down Penn State football, but that's not really how the NCAA works. The NCAA can dictate how Penn State makes money off of football and which teams it plays, but it has no control over what Penn State chooses to do with Beaver Stadium.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Longtime defensive coordinator Tom Bradley has a tough task ahead of him as he takes over as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions on an interim basis, effectively immediately. Bradley was thrust into the role on Wednesday night after the Penn State Board of Trustees voted to fire Joe Paterno in the wake of child sex abuse allegations brought against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

On Thursday, Bradley will take the first step as head coach of the Nittany Lions, meeting with the media before continuing with preparations for this weekend's game.

New Penn State head coach Tom Bradley will meet media tomorrow morning at 11.

It's unclear what Bradley will be able to discuss, though it seems likely the ongoing investigation will continue to be off-limits. If Wednesday night's Board of Trustees press conference is any indication, Bradley's first meeting with the media as head coach has the potential to quickly become a circus.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

As the allegations levied against former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky continued to trickle out, calls for the university's Board of Trustees to take action reached a feverish pitch. On Wednesday night, the action came, following a closed door meeting in which the board discussed what to do with head coach Joe Paterno and Penn State President Graham Spanier. Both were relieved of their duties effective immediately, with Spanier resigning and Paterno being fired by the board.

Ahead of the meeting, rumors of Spanier's resignation began to swirl. We later found out he submitted a letter of resignation before the board convened and accepted it. Paterno, on the other hand, made the decision to retire, but only after the 2011 season. The Board of Trustees, meanwhile, still had the option to relieve him of his duties immediately.

In a statement announcing his retirement, Paterno lamented he wished he'd done more.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

At 10 p.m. Eastern, the Board of Trustees called a press conference to announce Spanier had resigned and Paterno had been fired. Quickly, the press conference turned into a circus. The board was peppered with heated questions and the decision to fire Paterno immediately was met with outrage. Shortly thereafter, students began converging on downtown State College to protest the decision.

Paterno was reportedly told he was fired shortly before the press conference, by way of a courier delivering an envelope that contained a phone number and instructions to call it. He released the following statement shortly thereafter.

"Right now I'm not the coach. And after 61 years I have to get used to that."

Later, as tensions began to boil over in State College, Paterno expanded on his statement. With his wife at his side, Paterno asked that everyone remain calm and not destroy property while expressing disappointment in the boards decision and thanking his supporters.

The night wore on and the protest grew more destructive before police were able to take control of the situation and clear the streets. Various acts of vandalism were documented throughout the night. By 2 a.m., the streets were mostly empty, with only the damage left behind.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

While students and other individuals gather on the Penn State campus and others riot, the families of the victims in the Jerry Sandusky investigation continue to deal with the transgressions of the former Penn State coach. Speaking with Sara Ganim of the Patriot-News, an unnamed Penn State junior, the sister to one of the alleged victims, is having a hard time with being on campus. Students have failed to take the situation seriously and are joking about being "Sanduskied."

She sees the students focusing more on the football team and how this affects that program instead of what has happened to the alleged victims. Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin feels the same way, as he tweeted on Wednesday night:

This is a tough time But the outrage we are feeling now is nothing compared to what the victims are going through.keep them in our prayers.

Joe Paterno is a beloved college coach by many, but that status should not trump the main issue here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

In light of the events of Wednesday night that once again shook the sports world to its core, which included Penn State dismissing head coach Joe Paterno and PSU students rioting in reaction to the news of their favorite coach's departure.

Students gathered outside Paterno's home in State College, Pa., cheering for Paterno and expressing their support, which prompted Paterno, after previously issuing a brief statement, to address the crowd once more before, presumably, trying to go to sleep for the first time in 44 years as something other than the head coach of the Nittany Lions football team.

This wasn't Paterno's best moment, as he encouraged students to "get some sleep" and "study," but he admitted he was "out of it" after being told he was fired over the phone. If you had been fired over the phone after a 61-year career, chances are you'd be out of it, too.

For more on the situation that continues to develop at State College, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog, which has been on the forefront of the story from the beginning, Black Shoe Diaries, and revisit this storystream for updates.

We know Joe Paterno was fired by phone -- a necessary move considering the circumstances and situation in State College this week. But the whole story gets even more weird, according to reports on Wednesday evening. You see, it wasn't as simple as an official ringing up Paterno at his house to inform him of the news. It went a step further.

Joe Schad reveals the details surrounding how Paterno was given the news.

Paterno received at his home an envelope from a messenger with a # to call 15 minutes b/f BOT announcement — @schadjoe via Twitter

When Paterno called he was told "you are relieved of your duties." — @schadjoe via Twitter

Joe Paterno released a second statement on Wednesday night, hours after he was fired by the Penn State Board of Trustees. The first statement was short, with Paterno saying he would have to get used to not being the head coach at Penn State. But as the gathering in State College grew and showed signs of spinning out of control, Paterno asked the students to be respectful and thanked those who have been a part of his career.

Paterno's statement, which was broadcast on ESPN, is as follows:

"I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees' decision, but I have to accept it. A tragedy occurred, and we all have to have patience to let the legal process proceed. I appreciate the outpouring of support but want to emphasize that everyone should remain clam and please respect the university, its property and all that we value. I have been incredibly blessed to spend my entire career working with people I love. I am grateful beyond words to all of the coaches, players and staff who have been a part of this program. And to all of our fans and supporters, my family and I will be forever in your debt."

He also added the following when speaking to the students outside his home.

"I want to say to all these great students who I love, you guys are great all of you. When I say guys you know I mean, I mean girls, too. Look, get a good night's sleep. Study. Alright, we've still got things to do. I'm out of it maybe. The phone call put me out of it. We'll go from there, ok? Good luck everybody. Thanks for coming."

For more on the situation that continues to develop at State College, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog, which has been on the forefront of the story from the beginning, Black Shoe Diaries, and revisit this storystream for updates.

Penn State students took to the street on Wednesday night after head coach Joe Paterno was fired, effective immediately, by the Board of Trustees. Paterno is a beloved figure in State College, and the news that he was out as head coach triggered a huge gathering in downtown State College. Students took to the streets, and have been rallying in protest -- some screaming "We Want Joe" -- since the move was announced.

A few photos from the scene can be found below. The first should give you a sense of what's going on in State College, and involves a "look at me" moment.

Via KegsNEggs

via Daily Collegian

via Daily Collegian

Lastly, this view of the situation as it stands now, which shows the magnitude of the gathering in State College.

via Jon Wertheim

This clearly looks like a situation about to get out of hand. While one could classify this as college students being college students, there's no need for a potentially destructive gathering on top of everything else that's rocked the Penn State community recently. It's already bad enough; the students -- who are probably a small representation of the Penn State community at large -- rallying and protesting in the streets are making the situation worse.

For more on the situation that continues to develop at State College, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog, which has been on the forefront of the story from the beginning, Black Shoe Diaries, and revisit this storystream for updates.

The Penn State Board Of Trustees announced Wednesday that Joe Paterno would no longer be head coach of the football team in the wake of allegations that former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulted anywhere from eight to close to 20 young boys.

This came in the wake of Penn State President Graham Spanier announcing his resignation and Joe Paterno, earlier in the day, announcing he would retire at the end of the season. The board said they felt it was in the best long-term interests of the university if Paterno were immediately fired, and the decision sparked outrage during the press conference and may have incited a riot on campus.

Paterno was understandably in shock after the decision, and made a statement outside his house that conveyed just how surreal the past few days, culminating in the board's late-night announcement, must be for him:

For more on the situation that continues to develop at State College, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog, which has been on the forefront of the story from the beginning, Black Shoe Diaries, and revisit this storystream for updates.

Joe Paterno was fired over a phone call with the chairman and the vice chairman of the Penn State on Wednesday evening.  John Surma, the vice chairman, told the media and other assembled individuals that he and Chairman Steve A. Garban dismissed Paterno dismissed the coach while he answered questions during a chaotic press conference on Wednesday night.

Given the state of the Penn State campus, this seems like the best possible route the school could have taken. Students are assembling around campus and have gathered around elsewhere at Paterno's house. Neither bringing Paterno to the chairman's office nor traveling to Paterno's house would have ended well.

The school received the resignation of President Graham Spanier earlier in the day, but will likely need to reach a severance package with both Spanier and Paterno due to certain clauses in their contracts.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Joe Paterno is out as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Board of Trustees announced on Wednesday evening. The move was immediately met with shock and anger by those gathered in State College following the press conference to announce Paterno had coached his last game.

Video of the area showed a large gathering, likely of students, chanting and yelling. Screams of "We Want Joe" could be heard, as well as "[expletive] Sandusky" and "We Are ... Penn State."

Many began to gather outside Beaver Stadium, where a statue of Paterno resides. Black Shoe Diaries' Ben Jones tweeted the following picture after the press conference, which seems to show a relatively peaceful crowd gathering around the statue.

He added the mood, at the time, was somber, with students shedding tears and taking photos of the statue.

On campus, however, it was a different story. The situation appears to be volatile and the crowd continues to grow. While it probably doesn't classify as a riot at this point -- more of a large protest -- there's no telling if the gathering will take a turn for the worse as the night progresses.

We'll be back with more as it develops in State College.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

The Penn State Board of Trustees made it official on Wednesday night, announcing president Graham Spanier is out, effective immediately. Spanier submitted his resignation ahead of the board meeting on Wednesday night in the wake of a massive sexual abuse scandal allegedly involving former Penn State assistant Jerry Sandusky. Head coach Joe Paterno is also out, and will not coach another game at Penn State.

The details of Spanier's departure are still being worked out, including financial compensation.

"The contract has a variety of contractual provisions that deal with certain circumstances, Board of Trustees Vice Chairman John Surma said on Wednesday night at the press conference announcing the moves. "This is probably one of those and it will be adhered to whatever that may be and I think there is some financial settlement in that case."

We'll be back with more on the press conference as it becomes available.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn State University's Board of Trustees held a 10 pm ET post-meeting press conference to discuss next steps in the school's ongoing attempt to dig itself out of the Jerry Sandusky muck. The biggest news: yes, 61-year Penn St. Nittany Lions football coach Joe Paterno will not retire at the end of the season, pushed out by a unanimous board vote. He won't coach another game, meaning he's been fired, and was notified over the phone "earlier this evening."

He'll be replaced in the interim by Tom Bradley, longtime defensive coordinator. Mike McQueary, the former graduate assistant-turned-assistant coach who alerted Paterno to an alleged sex crime committed by Jerry Sandusky, will not see his status change.

President Graham Spanier, as expected, was also announced as having resigned. He appears to have accepted his fate more willingly than did Paterno, who earlier in the day insisted the Board not waste its time discussing his future.

An attempt at a live transcript of the press conference's opening remarks:

Dr. Spanier is no longer president of the university. In addition, Joe Paterno is no longer the football coach. Effective immediately.

These decisions were made after careful deliberation and in the best interest of the university as a whole. Penn State always strives for the highest moral standards in all of our activities. We promise we are committed to restoring public trust in our university.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno will not coach another game, according to Jim Gardner of ABC's affiliate on the scene of Wednesday night's board of trustees meeting. Tom Bradley will take over as Penn State's interim coach, according to Gardner.

@Jim_Gardner Assistant coach, Tom Bradley is interim coach. #PSUcharges

Bradley is Penn State's defensive coordinator. He grew up in Pennsylvania and played defensive back for Paterno in the mid-'70s, and has been considered a potential successor along the way. He took over for Jerry Sandusky in 1999.

The Nittany Lions have three regular season games left, starting this Saturday at home against Nebraska. Paterno had planned to finish out the season, but forced the board of trustees to make the final decision on his future.

For the latest updates on the Sandusky story and the fallout, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For the Penn State perspective of the ordeal, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries.

After several days of revelations surrounding the conduct of coaches and administrative officials at Penn State involved in the Jerry Sandusky scandal, head coach Joe Paterno will not coach another game for the Nittany Lions, reports Jim Gardner. Tom Bradley will serve as interim coach. The Board of Trustees is expected to announce this decision at a 10:00 p.m. ET press conference.

On Wednesday afternoon, Paterno had announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2011 season, but speculation arose shortly after that press conference that the Board of Trustees could still get involved with Paterno. The Board promised a swift investigation into the matter and it appears that Paterno was not able to escape the long arm of the Trustees.

Penn State President Graham Spanier has reportedly resigned.

For the latest updates on the Sandusky story and the fallout, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For the Penn State perspective of the ordeal, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State University President Graham Spanier has resigned in the wake of the numerous allegations of sexual abuse levied against former football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The Penn State Board of Trustees met late Wednesday night and reports of Spanier's resignation came shortly after the session came to a close. Rumors of his resignation swirled throughout the day, with reports indicating Spanier had already handed in a former letter to the board indicating he would step down.

Spanier presided over the university at the time of the alleged abuse, and has been under fire since the grand jury report on Sandusky was released. Spanier was made aware of the claims against Sandusky in 2002, but failed to pass along the reports to the police, according to the grand jury testimony.

Rodney Erickson, the current Executive Vice President and Provost at Penn State, is Spanier's rumored replacement in the interim. We'll have more on the situation as it becomes available.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

The U.S. Department of Education will launch an investigation into whether or not Penn State University failed to comply with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (a.k.a. the Clery Act) in regard to allegations of sex offenses by former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky.

There's been so much madness and things have moved so quickly at Penn St. University this week that it's hard sometimes to realize that is whole mess is only just getting started.

The Clery Act states that colleges and universities are required to disclose the number of criminal offenses on campus that are reported each year and the institution must issue a timely warning if a reported crime represents a threat to the campus community.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan commented directly on the situation.

"If these allegations of sexual abuse are true then this is a horrible tragedy for those young boys. If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse. Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse."

For the latest updates on the Sandusky story and the fallout, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For the Penn State perspective of the ordeal, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries.

According to Blue White Illustrated's Nate Bauer, Penn State President Graham Spanier will submit his resignation tonight to the Board of Directors and he will be replaced initially -- and perhaps permanently -- by current Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Rodney A. Erickson. 

Erickson has been with Penn State since 1999 with a focus on running academic operations.  He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Minnesota and a PH.D from the University of Washington.

As Provost, he has been the chief academic officer of the University, responsible for the academic administration of the University's resident instruction, research, and continuing education, and for the general welfare of the faculty and students. In his role as Executive Vice President, he serves as the chief executive officer in the President’s absence. So, he's probably the best person to be able and step in right away and do the job.

For the latest updates on the Sandusky story and the fallout, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For the Penn State perspective of the ordeal, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State has released a statement concerning the Grand Jury findings concerning Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse. This is the text in full:

The Penn State Athletics family is devastated by the details in the Grand Jury presentment. Our hearts go out to the children involved and their families.

Every day we are entrusted with the lives of young people, and we do not -- nor have we ever -- taken that trust lightly. We are outraged that a valued trust has been broken. We can promise you that we are doing everything in our power to restore that broken trust. Everyone within athletics -- coaches, administrators, staff and student-athletes -- are committed to this pledge.

Mark C. Sherburne
Acting Director of Athletics
Penn State University

For the latest updates on the Sandusky story and the fallout, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For the Penn State perspective of the ordeal, be sure to check out Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant coach Mike McQueary, the former graduate assistant who told Joe Paterno in 2002 about seeing Jerry Sandusky molest a young boy in Penn State's locker room, might not make it to the sideline on Saturday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Musselman.

@rmusselmanppg I am told that Penn State wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary is uncertain if he will coach Saturday.    

McQueary wasn't at practice on Tuesday, with Chris Fowler reporting he'd been declared to be on a recruiting trip. That's not all that easy to believe, since there's no way he could effectively convince anyone to play for Penn State with this going on. "On leave" would probably be a more accurate way to put it, but I guess you never know.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn State University president Graham Spanier will be announced as resigned Wednesday night according to Nate Bauer of Blue White Illustrated. According to the report, Spanier has already submitted his resignation. The school's Board of Trustees will meet before the announcement, its third meeting this week.

After athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, Spanier was deemed the next-most culpable in what appears to be a cover-up of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's sex crimes spree on Penn State's campus. Football coach Joe Paterno has also announced his retirement at the end of the season, though it remains to be seen whether he'll even be allowed to coach this Saturday.

While public opinion has weighed heavily on both Paterno and Spanier, the president has taken the brunt of criticism from students and fans.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

For most of us outside of Happy Valley, last week's grand jury report that former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky had been charged with molesting eight children came as a shock. It's hard to imagine the average football fan has even heard Sandusky's name in the past decade, let alone suspected him of doing anything wrong, ever.

But for those paying close attention to the program, the allegations were nothing new. They were rumors transferred into something of substance. From a Beaver County Times column by Mark Madden dated April 3 of this year:

If Paterno and Penn State knew, but didn't act, instead facilitating Sandusky's untroubled retirement - are Paterno and Penn State responsible for untoward acts since committed by Sandusky?

This is far from an outrageous hypothesis, especially given the convenient timeline.

Initially accused in 1998. Retires in 1999. Never coaches college football again. Sandusky was very successful at what he did. The architect of Linebacker U. Helped win national championships in 1982 and 1986. Recognized as college football's top assistant in 1986 and 1999.

Never any stories about Sandusky being pursued for a high-profile job. Never any rumors about him coming out of retirement.

But there's no shortage of stories and rumors about Penn State football sweeping problems under the rug, is there?

When you consider Sandusky was supposed to be in line for Paterno's job and was pursued by Virginia and Maryland in the early '90s, then suddenly vanished from coaching after the 1998 allegation, the puzzle starts to fit together. And the harder it is to believe that the two men charged with perjury were the only ones who knew.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn State President Graham Spanier will either resign or be fired by the board of trustees, according to a story in the Lehigh Valley Express-Times. Spanier has found himself in the middle of a sexual-assault scandal that has rocked Penn State and, recently, led to coach Joe Paterno announcing that he will retire at the end of the season.

Spanier was apparently first made aware of sexual assault allegation against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky in 2002. According to a grand jury testimony, a graduate assistant coach told Spanier about Sandusky's sexual assault of a young boy in the Penn State locker room. Despite this knowledge, the testimony said Spanier never involved police. Although there are currently no formal charges against Spanier, many have called for his resignation.

Sandusky faces 40 counts of sexually abusing children and two other university administrators have been charged in relation to the subsequent cover-up. 

For the latest updates on this situation, be sure to follow this StoryStream. For reaction from the Penn State community, check out Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State's football players were called to a meeting with Joe Paterno at 11 a.m. to discuss his retirement. That meeting, understandably, got a bit emotional. The Daily Collegian's Joe McIntyre and SB Nation's Black Shoe Diaries' Ben Jones both tweeted players' reactions.

From McIntyre:

Joe told players he's retiring. Will be here until end of season. Joe was emotional, crying. #PennState

Nate Stupar said players emotional, too. Never saw Joe cry before.

It was a sad mood. Joe was very emotional. -Derek Moye

Team captain Quinn Barham walked away from Lasch with a hood over his head. Did not talk.

From Jones:

Drew Astorino says "Obviously a tough time for everyone at PSU. Team is handling it well."

Astorino on the room when Joe told the team: "It was tough to hear. Everybody was obviously very emotional, very upset."

Astorino says he doesn't know what to expect from the crowd this weekend.

Referring to Sandusky being around the football building, Astorino: "Not going to comment on that."

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Joe Paterno's retirement from Penn State may be a messy one. One step of that exit: talking to players he has recruited and coached about the end of his career. Presumably, that's what he will do at an 11 a.m. meeting with Penn State players that Black Shoe Diaries' Ben Jones reports is about to occur.

Paterno's retirement is effective at the end of the 2011 season, and, despite a heartbreaking scandal about horrific abuse by Jerry Sandusky, his players will still play out the year, looking to follow a strong 8-1 start that has put the Nittany Lions in Big Ten and BCS contention.

Prior to the meeting, Penn State wide receiver Justin Brown tweeted "It's about to get real." Logically, it will be far more real on Saturday, when Paterno coaches his last home game on Senior Day against Nebraska.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Joe Paterno retiring as Penn State's head football coach at the end of the 2011 season was his own decision, according to Sara Ganim of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Penn., who cites a source close to Paterno.

If that much is true, then the rest of Ganim's report, which is that Paterno has had no contact with the Penn State Board of Trustees thus far, Paterno may not be entirely out of danger of being fired. The Board of Trustees promised an investigation and "swift, decisive action" after a Tuesday meeting, and Paterno independently making the decision to retire after the 2011 season and finish out his career as the Nittany Lions' head coach could rankle the Board further.

Paterno's comment on the Board of Trustees in a statement he released announcing his retirement suggests he is making this decision for their benefit:

At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

But that could well embolden a Board that could be interested in making the ultimate call on Paterno to consider firing a man who has become ingrained in American sports as the leader of Penn State over a career that spans more than 60 years at the school.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno announced the end of his 61-year career in Happy Valley in a statement released Wednesday. After the news was reported by the Associated Press and confirmed by son Scott Paterno, the coach himself said a few words.

Defenders will note the portion about hindsight, while critics will parse Paterno's call for the Penn State Board of Trustees to devote their energies to more pressing matters. It's important to note Paterno hasn't met with the Board yet, and there's no guarantee he'll be allowed to finish out the season once they decide on a course of action.

I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.

I have come to work every day for the last 61 years with one clear goal in mind: To serve the best interests of this university and the young men who have been entrusted to my care. I have the same goal today.

That's why I have decided to announce my retirement effective at the end of this season. At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.

My goals now are to keep my commitments to my players and staff and finish the season with dignity and determination. And then I will spend the rest of my life doing everything I can to help this University.    

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

Embattled Penn State president Graham Spanier has come under fire for keeping quiet and preventing Penn State coach Joe Paterno from speaking to media members at a press conference on Tuesday. It turns out that those decisions may not ultimately be his own: a report in the Chronicle of Higher Education suggests that Spanier has been instructed to keep silent by the university's Board of Trustees. And the muting has miffed him:

"It's tearing Graham up to sit by and watch everything he's done to build up this university over nearly 17 years—and see this individual's alleged acts tear away at it," said one of the sources, who asked not to be identified because of the board's policy.

Spanier's role in the investigations of Jerry Sandusky's alleged child molestation and rape while employed by Penn State in 1998 and while in the Penn State football facility in 2002 have drawn scrutiny. Spanier, according to a source "close to" him, says that he was not informed of the 1998 investigation until October 2011, and that he was never informed that the alleged 2002 incident was a sexual assault.

If that sort of alleged breakdown in communication prevented Spanier from acting on claims of monstrous abuse, Spanier is likely right to be livid about the furor over Sandusky. And, furthermore, the Board of Trustees is likely smart to have slapped tape over a powerful and frustrated figure's mouth.

Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

Legendary Penn St. Nittany Lions football coach Joe Paterno will retire, son Scott Paterno has confirmed to the Patriot-News' Sara Ganim. Paterno will finish out the season before stepping down, says his son.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Paterno will retire, a day after the New York Times reported his exit was in the works. Scott Paterno denied Tuesday that his father had been asked to step down. Penn State's board of trustees held a meeting Tuesday night for the second time this week to discuss the future of the football program and university.

Penn State's remaining schedule includes one home game: this Saturday against Nebraska. The Nittany Lions also travel to Ohio State and Wisconsin before competing in a bowl game. Nobody really cares to look that far ahead right now, considering the weight of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, but college football all but officially has only four games left of Joe Paterno.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno will retire from the position he has held for the last 46 years at the end of the 2011 college football season, according to the Associated Press, ending one of the longest and most celebrated coaching careers in American sports under a dark cloud.

The proximate cause of Paterno's retirement is unclear, but reports from Tuesday indicated that Penn State was planning Paterno's exit as coach. After a planned press conference was canceled, another report surfaced that a decision to fire Paterno could have happened by Friday; instead, it seems, Paterno will be allowed to keep his job through the rest of Penn State's season.

Paterno has been Penn State's head coach since 1966, and has been coaching at the school since 1950. He led the Nittany Lions to two national championships in 1982 and 1986 and has compiled 409 wins at the school, an NCAA record.

Penn State is 8-1 in 2011, and in the running for a berth in the first-ever Big Ten Championship Game. With the Nittany Lions playing their first game since a grand jury indictment of Sandusky and Penn State figures Tim Curley and Gary Schultz and last home game of the season and Paterno's career on Saturday against Nebraska, expect Happy Valley and Beaver Stadium to be a circus this coming weekend.

Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation in our StoryStream.

The Penn State scandal will almost assuredly result in quite a few firings, dismissals and resignations as more details emerge and meetings take place. The school's board of trustees has apparently already begun looking at possible replacements -- including former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge -- for school president Graham Spanier.

It wouldn't be a surprise to see Spanier out by the end of the weekend, especially if names like the former United States Secretary of Homeland Security are already being batted around as his successor, as according to ESPN's reports.

Penn State president Graham Spanier also has lost support among the trustees ahead of Friday's board meeting, the person said, although precisely how much has been unclear.

Late Tuesday, however, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Joe Schad that the board has weighed the possibility of having former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge replace the embattled Spanier.

The Board of Trustees has promised "swift, decisive action" regarding this matter so it seems something will be solved sooner rather than later.

Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno could speak at some point today, according to Nate Bauer of Blue White Illustrated, Rivals' Penn State site. Tom Rinaldi's name appears, meaning this would appear on ESPN, if it indeed were to happen.

@Ben_Jones88 RT @NateBauerBWI: A source has revealed that Tom Rinaldi is tentatively scheduled to interview Joe Paterno at 1 p.m. today.    

Paterno's son, Scott, has insisted that the coach wants to speak, and Tuesday appeared to say he was putting together a chance for his father to do so. Pete Thamel of the New York Times had repeatedly denied that an off-campus press conference for Paterno is in the works, but this wouldn't really be a press conference.

There's also no sure sign that it would be broadcast live, if it actually happens.

Paterno was scheduled to give his regular weekly pregame conference on Tuesday, but Penn State canceled once it became clear nobody was going to ask anything about the Nebraska game.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

The Penn State scandal is jarring, to be sure, and the allegations against Jerry Sandusky sound worse each time they are heard or read around the internet. As more and more information comes out about the situation, columnists have also been digging into the archives to find alternate angles ... including one that nearly altered the longtime assistant's career path.

The Baltimore Sun posted a story on Tuesday afternoon looking back at the Maryland Terrapins' courting of Sandusky.

"I put forward a plan a few years ago for Maryland," he told Paul McMullen of The Baltimore Sun. "Andy Geiger [then the athletic director] called to see if I would interview for the job. I debated and debated, and even though I had put together that plan, I didn't follow through. Being a head coach is something I'd like to do. I've been at that stage for a long time. I look at Maryland as a great opportunity, and I would be interested."

It has to be chilling to know that the Sandusky situation could have happened elsewhere, as the Sun's Matt Vensel points out in his story. The story also shows just how respected Sandusky was, making the current situation even more odd.

Hundreds of students gathered in front of Joe Paterno's house Tuesday evening, cheering and chanting Paterno's name and eventually drawing the Nittany Lions head coach out of his house to offer his thanks for the support.

Paterno eventually went back inside, but instead of dispersing, the throng of student supporters continued to grow, eventually migrating down Beaver Avenue to the steps of Old Main, the school's administrative building, according to Penn State's student newspaper, The Daily Collegian.

Thousands of students congregated in the campus streets, as you can see in the picture below posted on Twitter by @TheSchoolPhilly:

Numerous people tweeting from the scene were calling the crowds a "riot," but others, such as Dan Vecellio (@DanVecellio), were quick to point out there was no actual violence, just large groups of people migrating between Old Main and Beaver Stadium, overtaking the streets with loud pro-Paterno and anti-Graham Spanier (PSU's embattled president) chants. Because of the size of the crowd, police officers in riot gear wielding clubs and tear gas did emerge, but the peace was never broken, even if the students were slow to disperse. Again, from @TheSchoolPhilly:

While so many students have been vocal in their support for Paterno, the whole reason for why his job may be in jeopardy -- could he have done more to protect minors from a suspected sexual predator? --  seemed to have been lost on the crowd:

Paterno is guilty of this, as well. Even as he urged the students to pray for the alleged victims and the families of victims, he did so in a tone deaf manner, prefacing his first request with "Beat Nebraska!" and following his second by leading "We are Penn State!" cheers. It's either empathy as an afterthought or ill-timed enthusiasm to fill an awkward silence. Either way, it's a combination shared by those students gleefully marching in his support, and one that's difficult for those outside of State College, Pa. to understand. 

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow all of SB Nation's coverage of the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

Penn State's Board of Trustees released a statement Tuesday evening, stating its outrage about the details described in last weekend's grand jury presentment of Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse. 

Unlike Penn State president Graham Spanier's original statement on Saturday, which promised "unconditional support" and "complete confidence" in the university's athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, who were both charged with perjury and failure to report Sandusky's alleged actions to the police, the Board of Trustees announced it will form a Special Committee to investigate "what failures occurred" and that "swift, decisive action" will be made.  

The Board's statement in full:

The Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University is outraged by the horrifying details contained in the Grand Jury Report. As parents, alumni and members of the Penn State Community, our hearts go out to all of those impacted by these terrible events, especially the tragedies involving children and their families. We cannot begin to express the combination of sorrow and anger that we feel about the allegations surrounding Jerry Sandusky. We hear those of you who feel betrayed and we want to assure all of you that the Board will take swift, decisive action.

At its regular meeting on Friday, November 11, 2011, the Board will appoint a Special Committee, members of which are currently being identified, to undertake a full and complete investigation of the circumstances that gave rise to the Grand Jury Report. This Special Committee will be commissioned to determine what failures occurred, who is responsible and what measures are necessary to insure that this never happens at our University again and that those responsible are held fully accountable. The Special Committee will have whatever resources are necessary to thoroughly fulfill its charge, including independent counsel and investigative teams, and there will be no restrictions placed on its scope or activities. Upon the completion of this investigation, a complete report will be presented at a future public session of the Board of Trustees.

Penn State has always strived for honesty, integrity and the highest moral standards in all of its programs. We will not tolerate any violation of these principles. We educate over 95,000 students every year and we take this responsibility very seriously. We are dedicated to protecting those who are placed in our care. We promise you that we are committed to restoring public trust in the University.

At this point it doesn't seem likely that Spanier will emerge from this controversy with his job. Reports on Tuesday indicated that the Board would meet Wednesday to discuss Spanier's status; it's unclear if the decision to form a Special Committee changes those plans. 

Reports on Tuesday also indicated that a decision on Joe Paterno's future would come this week, but given the outpouring of student support for the coach and his decades of tenure with the university, it seems likely the Board may wait until the conclusion of their investigation before taking action. But again, that's just conjecture; this is obviously a fluid, and combustible, situation.

For more on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

After his speech to fans waiting outside his window when thinking of the victims of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse was an afterthought, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno left his house, supposedly to address the various media gathered outside.

Paterno said, "I want to say to the kids who were the victims, or whatever they want to say, I think we ought to say a prayer for them because they were ... tough life, when people do certain things to you, but anyway, you've been great." 

The students gathered on his lawn immediately cheered "We love you, Joe!" and broke out into a "Let Joe Stay!" chant, after which Paterno led them in a "We are Penn State" call and response cheer. Clearly a large amount of those in State College, Pa. would rather applaud Penn State football amid this scandal than question their fearless leader. Here's video of the event, via Along The Olentangy:

Joe addresses fans (via TDCFootball)

For more on the developing scandal, head to Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

Black Shoe Diaries' Ben Jones, who has been covering the Penn St. Scandal on campus since it broke, sums up what everyone is thinking after watching nearly 1,000 PSU students cheer on embattled head coach Joe Paterno on his front lawn.

Penn State students have lined JoePa's house all evening and when he emerged to greet them, they began cheering him and singing the alma mater. Paterno was all smiles and extremely thankful to the crowd, though he did stress that it wasn't about him.

Newsday reporter Jim Baumbach was there and captured some of the reactions:

As Paterno once again addressed students on his front lawn, students yelled, "We love you, Joe." He replied, "I love you, too."

Paterno thanked students for support, said you don't know how much this means to me and asked them to pray for families of victims.

When Paterno returned to his house, the students began marching towards campus, specifically the Paterno Statue. Rumors of a Board of Trustees meeting on campus led some students to try and find it but those rumors remain unconfirmed.

As for what to make of all this, many feel like the student support is misguided. And perhaps it is. However, it's clear that many on campus are going to stand behind their longtime coach for as long as he's there.

Check out more photos of the surreal event here.

For more on the Penn State scandal, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

When Jerry Sandusky was indicted Saturday on 40 counts of sex abuse charges, there were eight victims listed in the grand jury presentment. In the days since, that number has reportedly doubled, according to Philadelphia's Fox 29:

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Fox 29 has learned the number of child-abuse in the Penn State sex-abuse scandal involving ex-coach Jerry Sandusky has more than doubled in the past day, and is closer to 20 victims. 

[...] On Monday, state officials publicized two phone numbers for past victims to call, and within a day, it seems investigators have new leads.

Also on Monday, Pennsylvania state attorney general Linda Kelly said the Sandusky case was consideried an on-going investigation and more charges could be coming.

The earliest allegations of incidents listed in the presentment occurred in 1994. According to the grand jury presentment, all of the victims first encountered Sandusky through The Second Mile, a non-profit that Sandusky started in 1977 that works with disadvantaged youth.

Given that the Attorney General already said that Sandusky used the non-profit to find potential victims, it shouldn't be surprising if potential victims from the 17-year span from 1977 to 1994 eventually step forward, as well as additional victims from 1994 to 2009, when the grand jury first started investigating Sandusky. 

For more on the Penn State scandal, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno finally decided to meet with the students camped outside his house. But he's doing so while inside of it.

From Black Shoe Diaries' Ben Jones, here is Paterno tearfully addressing the students: 

Here is video of Paterno addressing the students, from The Daily Collegian:

Many of the Penn State students gathered outside of Paterno's house sang the Penn State alma mater, while some focused heavily on the lyric "May no act of ours bring shame."

Paterno later left his home and started walking amongst the crowd, telling supporters, "I'm so happy to see you" and telling people to "say a prayer for all of the victims and their families." 

The surreal scene in State College is only just beginning to unfold.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Blue White Illustrated is reporting that the Penn State Board of Trustees will meet Wednesday to discuss the status embattled School President Graham Spanier.

Spanier has gone silent in recent days after releasing an initial statement pledging "unconditional support" for athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz.

He also apparently nixed Joe Paterno's scheduled press conference on Tuesday due to legal concerns. Paterno was reportedly disappointed that his weekly press conference would not be held.

Calls for Spanier to resign or be removed from his post have been coming in fast and furious locally and nationally. Despite many calls for him to publicly comment further on the allegations, he has refused to do so since announcing the that Curley and Schultz would be leaving the university.

It seems to be a foregone conclusion that Spanier will lose his job over this controversy. He may also still be charged by the Pennsylvania Attorney General in some manner. At this point, it's just a question of how soon.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

A state senator has called for a government investigation into Penn State University -- in addition to the one already conducted by Pennsylvania law enforcement -- and now a United States congressman is calling for a federal investigation. Patrick Meehan, Pennsylvania's first-term 7th district House representative, released an open letter Tuesday to Department of Education secretary Arne Duncan.

A portion, in which Meehan details the specific offense in question:

As you know, the Clery Act (20 USC 1092(f)) requires colleges and universities to prepare, publish and distribute an annual security report in which there is a disclosure of all criminal offenses reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies. University officials are required to report suspected criminal offenses to campus security authorities. Additionally, each institution of higher education is required to develop and distribute a statement of policy regarding the procedures followed once a sex offense has occurred. Clery Act compliance is the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Education.

I know pretty much nothing about federal education law, but sounds like there might be something there.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

The winner of the inaugural Big Ten Championship game will receive the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy, named for current Penn State Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno and legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg.

According to CBSSports.com, Stagg's great-grandson thinks that the family may want to reevaluate the name of the trophy if "more disturbing evidence" is uncovered involving Paterno.

Stagg also chimed in with his thoughts on the ongoing investigation.

"If he [Paterno] has been complicit in this, he’s got to step down," said Stagg, a 54-year-old father working in sales in Grand Rapids, Mich. "Unfortunately that would be the case."

Asked specifically if "complicit" meant not going to authorities if Paterno knew a crime had been committed, Stagg said: "If you have knowledge of what’s going on, you have to alert authorities. You can’t leave it up to someone else to alert authorities. You have to. It’s the only thing to do."

At the moment, Penn State is in the driver's seat to play in the Big Ten Championship Game. The thought of Joe Paterno hoisting the Stagg-Paterno Championship Trophy in the midst of the current situation isn't one that a lot of Big Ten fans might feel comfortable with. Just like the Stagg family, we'll just have to wait and see...

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant coach Mike McQueary isn't with the team right now and is away on a recruiting trip, reports ESPN's Chris Fowler. McQueary is best known as of late as the former graduate assistant who observed defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky raping a 10-year-old and then went to tell coach Joe Paterno.

McQueary played at Penn State, and has been a position coach since 2000.

His role in the story has been in question, most powerfully by the mother of an alleged victim:

"I don't even have words to talk about the betrayal that I feel," said the mom of Victim Six. "[McQueary] was a grown man, and he saw a boy being sodomized ... He ran and called his daddy?"

Hard to imagine just how well that recruiting he's supposedly doing is going.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky's preliminary hearing was scheduled for this week, but it's been postponed, the Patriot-News' Sara Ganim reports.

@nicoleauerbach Originally scheduled for tomorrow. Not surprised it got pushed back. RT@sganim: #Sandusky preliminary hearing continued to Dec. 7    

That could mean either Sandusky's defense or the state has requested to push back the date. It's possible the state called for the continuance, since the attorney general was calling for more information on Monday and another alleged victim came forward earlier in the week. There might not be a whole lot Sandusky's side could gain by waiting another few weeks.

At the moment, we're looking at three trials resulting from the three-year investigation. One for Sandusky, and one each for Tim Curley and Gary Schultz. That might not be all.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno is on the way out, possibly as soon as some time within the next few days. The school's board of trustees has a scheduled meeting for Friday, which Pennsylvania's governor is supposed to attend.

The Associated Press reports a decision could be made even before then on Paterno's future:

The person is familiar with the trustees' discussions but says it's unclear what the consequences for Paterno will be.

The person says a decision could be at hand before the board meets Friday.

Paterno's son Scott has denied the Times report, saying Paterno's retirement hasn't been discussed and that he will coach this Saturday's game against Nebraska. But the board could make the decision for him. This can be cast as Paterno's willful resignment if Paterno prefers it that way, or Penn State can be forced to fire the man who's as much Penn State as Penn State itself. One way or the other, he's going.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Contrary to reports that appeared to come from Joe Paterno's own son, the Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach will not hold a press conference off-campus to discuss the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the New York Times' Pete Thamel reports.

@PeteThamelNYT Was just told that Joe Paterno will NOT be holding a press conference outside the school. He will coach practice today, per usual.    

However, a crowd (which includes Gregg Doyel, apparently) gathering outside of Paterno's house seems to think otherwise:

On both the issue of Paterno's guerilla press conference and of Paterno's retirement, Scott Paterno and the Times are at odds. The paper has also reported Paterno's exit is in the works, which the younger Paterno has denied.

Paterno had a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but Penn State president Graham Spanier shut it down as it became clear Paterno would be unable to avoid answering questions about Sandusky and the school's cover-up.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Joe Paterno is "not stepping down," and will be on the sideline this Saturday against Nebraska, according to his son Scott Paterno. Philly's FOX 29 and SB Nation's Ben Jones are both reporting the statement.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Penn State will not force Paterno out of his job. The New York Times has reported that Paterno is on his way out of State College "perhaps within days or weeks."

It appears increasingly likely that Paterno's 46-year tenure as head coach of Penn State will end as a result of the sex-abuse scandal currently gripping Penn State because of chargers of child molestation against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Earlier today, Penn State University president Graham Spanier canceled Paterno's Tuesday press conference due to the Jerry Sandusky investigation.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit SB Nation's Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. For the latest news updates on the Jerry Sandusky investigation, follow this comprehensive StoryStream.

Second Mile, the charity former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky allegedly used to come into illegal contact with nine boys, has issued a statement.

According to the grand jury's presentment on Sandusky and other reports, the longtime coach met children through the charity and football camps, bringing boys onto campus, to games and along on bowl trips. After unreported allegations of child molestation, Sandusky was told by Penn State officials not to bring any more kids onto campus. That ban didn't last for long.

Here's the statement in full, in which it's revealed Sandusky knew he was being investigated three years ago:

The newly released details and the breadth of the allegations from the Attorney General's office bring shock, sadness and concern from The Second Mile organization. Our prayers, care and compassion go out to all impacted.

The most recent reports we've read this past weekend state that Mr. Sandusky met the alleged victims through The Second Mile. To our knowledge, all the alleged incidents occurred outside of our programs and events. However, we are encouraging anyone with information regarding this investigation to contact investigators from the Office of Attorney General at 814-863-1053 or Pennsylvania State Police at 814-470-2238.

As The Second Mile's CEO Jack Raykovitz testified to the Grand Jury, he was informed in 2002 by Pennsylvania State University Athletic Director Tim Curley that an individual had reported to Mr. Curley that he was uncomfortable about seeing Jerry Sandusky in the locker room shower with a youth. Mr. Curley also shared that the information had been internally reviewed and that there was no finding of wrongdoing. At no time was The Second Mile made aware of the very serious allegations contained in the Grand Jury report.

Subsequently, in November 2008, Mr. Sandusky informed The Second Mile that he had learned he was being investigated as a result of allegations made against him by an adolescent male in Clinton County, PA. Although he maintained there was no truth to the claims, we are an organization committed first and foremost to the safety and well-being of the children we serve. Consistent with that commitment and with The Second Mile policy, we immediately made the decision to separate him from all of our program activities involving children. Thus, from 2008 to present, Mr. Sandusky has had no involvement with Second Mile programs involving children.

The Second Mile was first contacted by the Attorney General's office in early 2011. Since then, we have done everything in our power to cooperate with law-enforcement officials and will continue to do so.

Our highest priority always has been and will continue to be the safety and well-being of the children participating in our programs. We encourage program participants to report any allegations of abuse and/or inappropriate sexual activity wherever it has occurred, and we take any such reports directly to Child Protective Services. We have many policies and procedures designed to protect our participants, including employee and volunteer background checks, training and supervision of our activities.

The Second Mile has helped thousands of Pennsylvania's children to lead better lives, and we remain committed to that mission. Our success is a result of the trust placed in us by the families and professionals with whom we partner, and we will take any steps needed to maintain their confidence in us.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Penn State University president Graham Spanier canceled Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno's Tuesday press conference due to the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Son Scott Paterno had made it clear his father did not cancel the presser and was prepared to speak about Sandusky.

A Twitter account which appears to belong to Paterno -- the account tweeted Paterno's statement at the minute it went live Sunday evening -- is claiming Paterno will hold his own, off-campus press conference to address the scandal:

David_LaTorre  @ScottPaterno if you are handling his media -- and if Joe wants to address these accusations -- hold your own presser off campus. #PSU1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

in reply to ↑

@ScottPaterno @David_LaTorre working on it.9 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhoneFavorite Retweet Reply

cgummer via @DufresneLATimes: Dear @scottpaternoDad does not need to adhere to Spanier's edict. 60 yrs on campus = hold your own conf.@ESPN_colin27 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

in reply to ↑

@ScottPaterno @cgummer @dufresnelatimes@espn_colin working on it.13 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhoneFavorite Retweet Reply

No heroes can emerge from this story, but if anybody has the power to do the right thing at this point, it's Paterno. Spanier has shown he's interested in protecting his administrators, but Paterno can do anything he wants. Such a press conference could be Paterno's one chance to salvage a piece of his legacy.

We'll see.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Penn St. Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno was prepared to talk about the Jerry Sandusky scandal during his Tuesday press conference, son Scott Paterno said. The younger Paterno is a lawyer and helped craft the coach's weekend statement on Sandusky.

The Associated Press reports the decision came from president Graham Spanier's office:

Paterno's son Scott tells The Associated Press on Tuesday that the decision was made by President Graham Spanier's office.

Scott Paterno says his father was disappointed and was prepared to take questions about the scandal as well as the upcoming game against Nebraska.

Penn State's strategy thus far has been to let Paterno remain the face of the program and the university. He's no angel in this story by any means, but Spanier, who pledged his "unconditional" support to Tim Curley and Gary Schultz needs to stand by the man who's defined Penn State for decades. For him to cancel Paterno's chance to tell as much of his side of the story as the investigation allows -- thus casting the story as PATERNO DOESN'T WANT TO TALK -- only makes it worse.

If Spanier doesn't want to talk, Paterno should be allowed to talk for him. Should we presume Paterno would've revealed something Spanier personally didn't want revealed? Not sure what else we're supposed to believe here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Eight alleged victims of former Penn St. Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky were listed, detail by detail, in the grand jury's report revealing the 40 counts of child sex abuse charges. Monday, Pennsylvania law enforcement called for those with more information to come forward -- attorney general Linda Kelly hoped for more information, but hoped that there were no more victims.

According to one report, there are. The Associated Press reports a man now in his 20s has raised new allegations that he allegedly hadn't told anyone until now:

The man, now an adult, contacted the department on Sunday after seeing media accounts of Sandusky's arrest, Lt. David Young at the Montoursville station said. Investigators took a statement from him and forwarded it to the Rockview station for officers there to pursue, Young said.

The anonymous young man reported Sandusky came into contact with him via the Second Mile charity.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

The Penn St. Nittany Lions football program is crumbling. It's no surprise to see the New York Times reporting longtime legend Joe Paterno will not remain in his position for much longer. The Jerry Sandusky scandal and cover-up is simply going to be too much for anyone connected to the program to survive. Everything must be burned down.

A Tuesday press conference, at which Paterno was supposed to address nothing but football, has been canceled after it became clear absolutely nobody wants to talk about Penn State football right now.

Paterno's exit has been pending for literally decades now. This is not the way anyone ever dreamed he'd go out. From calls for his immediate firing to calls for him to resign at the end of the year, it's the only way the Paterno regime can possibly end.

Typed this through tears. This is a disaster, with at least eight victims plus hundreds of thousands affected in some way, and not a single person has yet offered to take charge of the cleanup or explain what went wrong.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

The much discussed Joe Paterno press conference scheduled for 12:30 pm on Tuesday afternoon has been cancelled by Penn State president Graham Spanier. Paterno was reportedly disappointed that his weekly press conference would not be held.

In the build-up to the highly anticipated press conference, it was reported that Paterno would not answer questions about the Jerry Sandusky case and would only discuss football matters. Paterno, caught up in the Sandusky mess due to his involvement with a 2002 incident cited in the Grand Jury indictment of Sandusky, has been the subject of a great deal of criticism for his actions. A large number of fans, students and media alike have called for his resignation.

Many members of the press were expected to ignore the university's request that they not ask questions about Sandusky and the scandal. More likely than not, the anticipated onslaught of non-football questions is what caused Penn State to call off the press conference.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

***UPDATE: PSU has CANCELLED Joe Paterno's Tuesday press conference.***

Penn St. Nittany Lions football coach Joe Paterno is scheduled to hold his regular Tuesday press conference around 12:30 pm ET. Penn State has said he'll only talk about the team's upcoming opponent, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, meaning they're hoping nobody asks about the ongoing Jerry Sandusky scandal. 

That seems farfetched, and multiple beat writers have already said they'll refuse to abide by that request. Unless the presser gets cut down to about one minute, this will be the first we've heard from Paterno on the subject, other than a prepared statement.

Nationally, it will be on ESPN. If you're in the area, you can watch on Comcast SportsNet. For those who need to watch online, Penn State's official site will carry video at this page ("Coach Paterno's Weekly Press Conference" is listed in the Live Events section just under the main video) or WatchESPN.com. Also, the Examiner is saying they'll stream live right here:

Live Video streaming by Ustream

If you miss it, you should be able to catch up here or here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Joe Paterno will not address questions about the ongoing Jerry Sandusky sex crimes scandal during his weekly press conference Tuesday, according to a release issued by Penn State's sports information department. The Scranton Times-Tribune was among the media outlets who received the release, posting it online: 

Media planning to attend Tuesday's Penn State Football weekly teleconference are advised that the primary focus of the teleconference is to answer questions related to Penn State's Senior Day game with Nebraska this Saturday. Head coach Joe Paterno and any Penn State Football student-athletes in attendance will be answering questions about the Nebraska game, Penn State's season thus far and other topics related to the current college football season.

Despite the school's best efforts to keep the focus on football, it's unrealistic to think the media will acquiesce. As Cory Giger, a writer for the Altoona Mirror, noted on Twitter (@CoryGiger), "Paterno wants to keep burying his head in the sand and hope this all goes away. ... But it's our job to ask the questions, and we will ask." 

Paterno released a prepared statement Sunday about the investigation, but that statement has created more questions than answers. In his statement, Paterno claims that he was never told specific details about what Mike McQueary saw. But that contradicts the report issued by Pennsylvania's Attorney General on Saturday, which states that Paterno told Curley that McQueary "had reported seeing Sandusky involved in sexual activity with a young boy." 

Is Paterno suggesting the Attorney General's report is wrong? Or was his statement deliberately misleading to deflect blame? These are just some of the questions Paterno will likely be asked so long as he continues to step in front of a microphone, no matter what guidelines Penn State's communications staff sets forth.

Much of the fallout from the shocking Jerry Sandusky case has focused on why athletic director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz failed to report Sandusky to the police, as well as why Joe Paterno failed to follow up after informing Curley and Schultz of the allegations against Sandusky.

But the mother of one of Sandusky's alleged victims is just as angry with Penn State president Graham Spanier and assistant coach Mike McQueary, voicing her complaints in an interview with The (Harrisburg, Pa.) Patriot-News.

When the news broke that Sandusky was indicted on 40 counts of sexual abuse and Curley and Schultz were charged with perjury and failure to report, Spanier released a statement saying Curley and Schultz "have my my unconditional support," adding "I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee."

The mother is upset that Spanier was so vocal in his support: 

"I'm so upset," said the mom of the 24-year-old, who authorities are calling Victim Six. "My son is extremely distraught, and now to see how we were betrayed, words cannot tell you. To see that Graham Spanier is putting his unconditional support behind Curley and Shultz when he should be putting his support behind the victims, it just makes them victims all over again." 

The same mother also unloaded on McQueary, who testified that as a 28-year-old graduate assistant in 2002 he witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy but did not make an effort to stop him, instead calling his father for advice before reporting the incident to Joe Paterno: 

"I don't even have words to talk about the betrayal that I feel," said the mom of Victim Six. "[McQueary] was a grown man, and he saw a boy being sodomized ... He ran and called his daddy?"

Former NFL linebacker LaVarr Arrington, who played with McQueary at Penn State, is equally confused. From his radio show on 106.7 FM in Washington D.C., as transcribed by The Patriot-News:

"I know Mike [McQueary]. Mike was my quarterback,'' Arrington said.

"I know him. So I'm trying to understand, how do you, and again, maybe he felt as though it would be better suited if it came from Coach Paterno. ... I'm going to tell you right now, I gotta stop that [assault].

"Even if it's, 'Coach [Sandusky], I gotta stop you. ... I gotta take this to Coach Paterno right now'. This is not good, oh my gosh, this is not good.'' 

McQueary has yet to publicly comment on the case, but the collective inaction of everyone involved may never be understood or explained.

Centre County prosecutor Ray Gricar decided not to prosecute then-Penn St. Nittany Lions DC Jerry Sandusky in 1998 after charges of child molestation were made. He never fully explained his decision.

Seven years later, then-district attorney Gricar went missing. His car was found abandoned in a parking lot and his laptop was found in the Susquehanna River, damaged beyond repair. He was declared dead this past July after a fruitless search never turned up his body.

Now, it is very early in the prosecution of Sandusky and it might be a bit of a leap to assume all of this is connected. The one thing that is true, however, is that Gricar's reasons for choosing not to prosecute will almost never be known.

That's not to say Gricar didn't try to find out everything he could about Sandusky. Gricar was said to have led the investigation into the coach himself and even had a police officer hide in the house of an alleged victim while the mother confronted Sandusky. That confrontation allegedly led to Sandusky's admission that he showered with a child.

There is no proof as to whether or not Gricar ever heard about the 2002 shower incident years later.

Whether Gricar decided to disappear and likely kill himself over the Sandusky allegations or something completely unrelated, we'll probably know. That said, police revealed that Gricar's home computer had saved searches for "how to wreck a hard drive" and "water damage to a notebook computer," meaning that he clearly wanted to make sure something never saw the light of day.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Details about former Penn State defensive coordinator and alleged child molester Jerry Sandusky's past continue to take on new meaning with each discovery.

Take this 2011 article by Neil Rudel in the Beaver County Times that explains how Sandusky lost out on the Virginia Cavaliers head coaching job due to his dedication to the Second Mile charity. At the time, it makes Sandusky sound like a man who has his priorities in check and seems committed to the greater good.

Now we know better.

According to the article, Sandusky was considered a strong candidate for the job afer his first interview. However, interest cooled when the school realized he was too committed to the charity to give his full attention to the position. Sandusky's quotes from the time seem innocuous but take on a far more sinister tone based on what is alleged.

"I'm a very complex person...I couldn't deny the importance of Second Mile in my life...[To have coached at Virginia] would have been neat in a lot of ways...but I've got a lot going on here and that's OK."

The article ends with a bit of foretelling that Rudel couldn't have known would take on the meaning it does now.

"That's a shame for Jerry Sandusky but maybe that's the way it should be. The Second Mile is as much a part of his legacy as football."

Unfortunately, that's more true than Rudel could have realized.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Penn St. Nittany Lions athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz have surrendered to police on charges of perjury and failure to report abuse, the Associated Press has reported. Curley was charged for his failure to notify law enforcement about allegations raised against then-defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

The AD was placed on administrative leave Sunday night after an emergency meeting of the university's board of trustees. There will be another trustees meeting on Friday, which will be attended by Pennsylvania's governor.

Both Curley and Schultz had the chance to make it known that Sandusky had been accused of molesting a child on Penn State's campus. In 1998, an in-house investigation into another allegation against Sandusky didn't make it beyond campus walls.

Football coach Joe Paterno has not been charged and is not a target, the state's attorney general has announced.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Jerry Sandusky, who's been hit with dozens of charges of child sex abuse, many of them for acts committed while on Penn State's campus and some for acts committed while on the clock, maintained a presence at Penn State up until his arrest, Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel reports.

Wetzel cites multiple sources as saying Sandusky was "working out multiple times" in the Nittany Lions' Lasch Football Building in the days leading up to his arrest.

Penn State banned Sandusky from bringing children on campus after the second allegation was raised against him in 2002. But within five years, he was apparently no longer banned.

Sandusky maintaining such a presence in Happy Valley means he had to have come in rather frequent contact with both coach Joe Paterno and assistant coach Mike McQueary -- the former graduate assistant who reported Sandusky's alleged assault to Paterno in 2002.

This story started out as revolting and has gotten worse by the hour. And it's nowhere near done.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries. Follow along here for updates on the Jerry Sandusky case.

Pennsylvania attorney general Linda Kelly and police investigator Frank Noonan held a press conference Monday afternoon on the allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, along with resigned Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz.

Both stated Joe Paterno is in no legal danger, but both appeared to agree with the many concerned that Paterno didn't call police in 2002 when the coach learned Sandusky had allegedly sexually assaulted a preteen in the football locker room's shower.

"I have never been involved with a case like this where police weren't called," Noonan said, "This is not a case about football or universities. It's about children having innocence stolen and lack of action being taken."

Noonan called for anyone with information to contact police.

Kelly cited the "inaction" of Curley and Schultz as likely allowing a predator to victimize more children. She also noted the statute of limitations for child abuse crimes lasts until the alleged victim reaches the age of 50. Kelly declined to say whether more charges could be raised against anyone tied to the case. She did say Paterno is not a "target at this point," and has been cooperative.

She also called for more leads, but refused to speculate on whether there might be more victims. Six of the grand jury presentment's eight have been identified, according to Kelly.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Scott Paterno, son of Penn St. Nittany Lions football coach Joe Paterno and a lawyer, helped his father write the statement released Sunday night regarding former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who's been charged with dozens of counts of child sexual abuse.

In the statement, Paterno insisted he followed the letter of the law in relaying a vague claim against Sandusky to his superior, athletic director Tim Curley. That much is true, according to Pennsylvania law enforcement, though the law doesn't really cover everything here.

Here's Scott Paterno on reading through what the grand jury turned up about Sandusky and the Penn State cover-up: 

"When he read the presentment and called me, he could barely speak," Scott Paterno said.

"It was like a punch in the gut."

Yeah, that's how we all felt. More to come, probably for a very long time.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Jerry Sandusky was charged with dozens of counts of child molestation on Friday, following a two-year grand jury investigation. Since the initial report was released, the attention has turned to who knew what, and how these alleged incidents could've been stopped sooner. According to the grand jury report, head coach Joe Paterno was told of an incident in a Penn State locker room shower involving Sandusky and a juvenile in 2002, but the allegations were cast aside when passed up the line to administrators at the school.

Despite concerns being raised in 2002, it appears Sandusky continued to operate an overnight camp for children at Penn State through 2009.

It's unclear if Sandusky was being paid by Penn State for overseeing the camp, which he operated via his Sandusky Associates company located in State College. But multiple schools in the Penn State system hosted and provided facilities for the program, touted Sandusky's Penn State affiliation, and featured other instructors from the Penn State family in an implicit endorsement of the camp.

A copy of a pamphlet advertising from the camp in 2009 can be found over at Deadspin.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State athletic director Tim Curley and vice president of business and finance Gary Schultz have gone on administrative leave in the wake of allegations levied against former football assistant Jerry Sandusky. The moves come following a late-night board meeting at Penn State, in which members reportedly discussed the pending sex abuse charges Sandusky, a legend in Penn State coaching circles, is facing.

Curley and Schultz were each charged with perjury for covering up what they knew about the allegations against Sandusky as the investigation unforlded. According to the testimony, the two failed to report allegations of abuse levied in 2002, which were passed on to the by head coach Joe Paterno.

"Despite a powerful eyewitness statement about the sexual assault of a child, this incident was not reported to any law enforcement or child protective agency, as required by Pennsylvania law," Kelly said. "Additionally, there is no indication that anyone from the university ever attempted to learn the identity of the child who was sexually assaulted on their campus or made any follow-up effort to obtain more information from the person who witnessed the attack first-hand."

The two were expected to turn themselves in on Monday.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Statements from those involved in the allegations levied against former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky continue to trickle out, and Joe Paterno is the latest to tell his side of the story. Sandusky was charged with dozens of counts of child molestation for incidents allegedly involving eight different young males over a 10-year span in the 90s and 2000s.

Paterno was told of an incident involving Sandusky and a young male in 2002, and forwarded the case to his superiors at Penn State. But since the allegations came to light, Paterno has come under fire for failing to do more to prevent further abuse.

In addition to expressing shock and surprise about the allegations levied against Sandusky, Paterno admitted being told of an incident in the Penn State locker room shower, but denied knowing specifics in a statement on Sunday.

As my grand jury testimony stated, I was informed in 2002 by an assistant coach that he had witnessed an incident in the shower of our locker room facility. It was obvious that the witness was distraught over what he saw, but he at no time related to me the very specific actions contained in the Grand Jury report. Regardless, it was clear that the witness saw something inappropriate involving Mr. Sandusky. As Coach Sandusky was retired from our coaching staff at that time, I referred the matter to university administrators.

The full statement can be read here.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Current Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary has been identified as the unnamed 28-year-old graduate assistant the Pennsylvania Attorney General described witnessing former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy in the showers of Penn State's athletic facility, according to PennLive.com. 

McQueary told Joe Paterno what he witnessed, and Paterno informed athletic director Tim Curley and university vice president Gary Schultz.  Curley and Schultz then waited 10 days to speak with McQueary, ultimately deciding not to report the incident to the police.

When Curley and Schultz were questioned about the meeting by a grand jury, their accounts of the conversation differed greatly from those of Paterno and McQueary. From PennLive.com:

Their testimony of what happened in 2002 -- when now-assistant coach Mike McQueary said he witnessed Sandusky in a sex act with a boy in a shower -- contradicts that of Paterno and McQueary.

In the presentment, jurors wrote that McQueary -- identified in the presentment only as a 28-year-old graduate assistant -- was credible but Schultz and Curley were not.

Several sources have identified that witness as McQueary.

Curley and Schultz deny they were told that McQueary witnessed a sex act, instead claiming they were told Sandusky was "horsing around," and that the incident was "not that serious." They have been charged with perjury and failure to report. Sandusky, meanwhile, faces dozens of sex crime charges, and if convicted will face life in prison.

The Penn St. Nittany Lions scandal surrounding former coach Jerry Sandusky, who's been charged by a grand jury with dozens of counts of sex crimes against eight children, has already gotten politicians involved. Pennsylvania state senator Jeffrey Piccola is calling for Penn State University's board of trustees to investigate the failings of athletic director Tim Curley and university senior vice president Gary Schultz to report the crime to law enforcement.

"This is a major blemish on the reputation of Penn State University. This makes recruiting violations look like small potatoes," said Piccola, R-Dauphin County.

Curley was informed in 2002 by football coach Joe Paterno of an alleged sexual assault in Penn State's football showers days earlier. Schultz also knew of a 1998 university investigation into another alleged incident similar to that one. Both times, Penn State officials dismissed the allegations without informing authorities beyond campus walls.  

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn St. Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno didn't do everything he could to assure former assistant Jerry Sandusky would never again harm another child. That much is true, and must be gotten out of the way. Paterno found out about the allegations, told his boss, and then allowed Sandusky back on campus, though after athletic director Tim Curley and school vice president Gary Schultz had wrongly found Sandusky to be in the clear. And back on campus with children, a few years later. 

Reaction was swift and unanimous: Paterno, along with many others, made a mistake.

But Paterno appears to have followed the letter of the law in his handling of the allegation brought to him by a graduate assistant, who had allegedly seen Sandusky sexually assaulting a preteen in Penn State's locker room. The coach reportedly won't be charged with any crime.

Here's, as far as I can tell, the relevant Pennsylvania code:

Licensees who are staff members of a medical or other public or private institution, school, facility or agency, and who, in the course of their employment, occupation or practice of their profession, come into contact with children shall immediately notify the person in charge of the institution, school facility or agency or the designated agent of the person in charge when they have reasonable cause to suspect on the basis of their professional or other training or experience, that a child coming before them in their professional or official capacity is a victim of child abuse. Upon notification by the licensee, the person in charge or the designated agent shall assume the responsibility and have the legal obligation to report or cause a report to be made.

The legal question of whether Paterno counts as the person in charge appears to have been answered by the fact that he hasn't been and reportedly won't be charged.

It doesn't absolve him of responsibility, and it doesn't mean the entire Penn State football program isn't in jeopardy over this horrific episode that should've ended with Sandusky in a courtroom more than a decade ago.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

The fallout from Friday's grand jury indictment of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky continues on Saturday, with his attorney, Joe Amendola, the latest to chime in on the case. Sandusky faces 40 felony charges stemming from allegations of indecent contact with a minor. The incidents allegedly occurred over a decade-long period

In a quick press conference, Amendola denied the charges and told reporters his client maintains his innocence. Amendola said Sandusky was "shaky" in the face of the serious allegations, and is having a rough time wrapping his head around the charges. It was also news to Amendola that two Penn State administrators were charged with perjury.

Sandusky was arraigned on the charges, with bail set at $100,000. According to Amendola, the low bail -- the prosecution asked for $500,000 -- was fair as Sandusky is not a flight risk in the case. From here, the defense expects to learn more about the case ahead of a preliminary hearing on Nov. 9.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

A college football Saturday that was supposed to be one of the season's best was marred by some awful news regarding Penn State. Former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has been charged with many child sex abuse felonies, athletic director Tim Curley has been charged with perjury and legendary coach Joe Paterno has been found to have known about at least one of Sandusky's alleged on-campus actions.

It's not at all easy to write anything about this, especially since it involves perhaps the closest thing to a saint college football has ever had. But reaction from throughout college football media has been consistent: this is horrible, and everyone is to blame.

@Matt_HayesSN I had to stop reading Sandusky charges. Disgusting, disturbing. It's obvious entire athletic department (and JoePa) is complicit.    

@PeteThamelNYT This Penn State grand jury report is the most revolting thing I've ever seen while covering college sports. Period.    

@SBN_BillC Seriously. RT @Dejan_Kovacevic: PSU pres. Spanier calls support of indicted AD and school official "unconditional." Really? Unconditional?    

@bomani_jones ncaa was in ohio st's craw for not reporting free tattoos. we're talking about unreported on-campus child molestation at penn st.    

@MattZemek_CFN Do you agree that SMU should have received the death penalty, or that Miami should soon receive it? If so, PSU must receive the same. Simple    

@GaryParrishCBS FYI: You report crimes to police, not athletic officials. Joe Pa taking it to AD and then letting it go isn't good enough for me or most.    

@usfvoodoo5 I assume after what ESPN did to Ohio State, every Outside the Lines for the next 20 years will cover this Penn State debacle.    

@colin_dunlap There is blood on your hands, Joe Paterno. If you've been told an employee of yours molested a boy(s), you call the police. Immediately.    

@ESPNDari These allegations against former Penn State DC Jerry Sandusky are awful. Man I hope this isn't true. U can google story. Man oh man.    

@GeorgeSchroeder If as charged, Penn St used trad'l ath dept MO - cover up/keep in-house - it's time to clean house 1.usa.gov/tKywas

And, from a Penn State fan who had to prepare himself just to read the grand jury report, the reaction that feels much like mine:

@runthedive God damn it.    

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State University president Graham Spanier has commented on the perjury charges raised against athletic director Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, assistant vice president. The two were found to have offered insufficient testimony to a grand jury investigating sexual assault charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

The allegations about a former coach are troubling, and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly. Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance. 

With regard to the other presentments, I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support. I have known and worked daily with Tim and Gary for more than 16 years. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former University employee. 

Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion. I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless and that they conducted themselves professionally and appropriately.

Graham Spanier

Unconditional unconditional?

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office has released documents relating to former Penn St. Nittany Lions assistant Jerry Sandusky's charges of committing sex crimes against young boys. Sandusky was charged with a couple dozen felonies and a number of misdemeanors, while athletic director Tim Curley and Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz were hit with a count of perjury each, with Curley telling the grand jury that he felt the allegations against Sandusky were "not that serious."

These documents are detailed, extensive and recount many alleged incidents involving Sandusky and eight different victims. It's nothing anybody wants to read, but it's there.

From another document, the gist of how the relationship began:

Kelly said the victim first encountered Sandusky through the Second Mile program, when he was 11 or 12 years old, attending a Second Mile camp on the Penn State University campus. Sandusky also allegedly used expensive gifts to maintain contact with the boy, including trips to professional and college sporting events, golf clubs, a computer, clothing and money.

It's also alleged that on March 1, 2002, a graduate assistant caught Sandusky and a young male showering together in the football locker room. The GA reportedly notified head coach Joe Paterno the next day, and Paterno notified athletic director Tim Curley shortly after. There's no mention of Paterno notifying law enforcement.

Kelly said the assistant, who was extremely upset about what he had seen, immediately called his father to relate what he had discovered.  Together, the two decided that the assistant should promptly report the incident to head football coach Joe Paterno.

The next morning, the assistant telephoned Paterno and then went to Paterno's home to explain what he had seen. Paterno testified that he then called Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and met with Curley the following day, explaining that a graduate assistant had reported seeing Sandusky involved in sexual activity with a young boy in the showers at the Lasch Building.

Almost two weeks later, the graduate assistant met with Curley and Schultz.

"Despite a powerful eyewitness statement about the sexual assault of a child, this incident was not reported to any law enforcement or child protective agency, as required by Pennsylvania law," Kelly said. "Additionally, there is no indication that anyone from the university ever attempted to learn the identity of the child who was sexually assaulted on their campus or made any follow-up effort to obtain more information from the person who witnessed the attack first-hand."

Instead, Sandusky was told he couldn't bring any of his Second Mile kids on campus.

Schultz told the grand jury he was aware of a similar, alleged incident in 1998, but didn't follow up on it either then or when the second incident came to light. Wendell Courtney, Penn State's university counsel to this day, reviewed the 1998 event.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries.

Penn State athletic director Tim Curley was charged with perjury and failure to report as part of an investigation into Jerry Sandusky, the school's former defensive coordinator who was indicted Friday on felony sex abuse charges, according to the Associated Press:

State prosecutors said Sandusky, 67, of State College, was arrested Saturday. Curley, 57, and Penn State vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz, 62, both of Boalsburg, were expected to turn themselves in Monday in Harrisburg, according to the attorney general's office. Schultz's position includes oversight of the university's police department.

Sandusky's indictment includes 40 counts, with allegations of incidents starting in 1996 and ending in 2005. Sandusky retired from Penn State in 1999, devoting his time to The Second Mile, a charity he founded in 1977. A grand jury investigating Sandusky heard testimony in March from Curley and Schultz, among others.   

According to the charity's official site, The Second Mile is "a statewide non-profit organization for children who need additional support and who would benefit from positive human contact. The Second Mile plans, organizes, and offers activities and programs for children - and adults who work with them - to promote self-confidence as well as physical, academic, and personal success."

A spokesman for Penn State's athletic department had no immediate comment, the AP reports.

For more on the Nittany Lions, visit Penn St. blog Black Shoe Diaries.