Amid allegations of child sex abuse against one of his former assistants, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno will retire at the end of the 2011-12 season, CBS News is reporting. The coach has been criticized since former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was charged with molesting eight young boys between 1994 and 2009.
Athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz have also been charged in the case, for failing to notify authorities after an eyewitness reported a 2002 assault. In response to the charges, Paterno has said “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.”
While Paterno wants to retire from the only school he ever coached at after the season ends, Penn State’s board of trustees may make him leave immediately. The coach has been questioned why he never followed up on the 2002 incident, during which Sandusky allegedly sodomized a 10-year-old boy in the team’s football complex showers.
Paterno did inform Curley, who has been charged with lying to the state grand jury, about the incident. But his critics feel he should have tried to help identify the victim, or alert authorities.
The coach also said he’s “absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.”
Written by: Karen Benardello
