U.S.: Penn State: Joe Paterno clears the record in first interview since firing
- I didn’t know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way.
- Former Penn State coach Joe Paterno • Speaking to the Washington Post’s Sally Jenkins about the situation with Jerry Sandusky — the first interview he’s given since leaving the school. Paterno’s firing (after a 61-year career) came late at night, under rushed circumstances. Since then, Paterno has fought a variety of health issues, including cancer and a broken pelvis, but agreed to the interview in an attempt to clear the record. Among other notable things in the interview: Paterno encouraged Sandusky to retire at an early age because he was spending too much time with the Second Mile foundation at the cost of football; and when told by assistant coach Mike McQueary that something was amiss, he said he “didn’t feel adequate” to deal with the issue, so he handed it off to superiors. And he was lost in terms of handling it further, afraid that he might mess something up by exerting too much influence one way or another. “In hindsight, I wish I had done more,” he said. Officials say that Paterno has no legal liability in the case, and that he worked with officials the whole way through. source