Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has decided to retire at the end of the season, his long career brought down by his failure to do more about an allegation of child sex abuse against a former assistant.
Paterno said in a statement Wednesday he is “absolutely devastated” by the developments in the case of Jerry Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator accused of molesting eight boys over 15 years.
“This is a tragedy,” Paterno said in the statement. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”
The university’s board of trustees — considering its options regarding the coach — “should not spend a single minute discussing my status,” Paterno said.
“They have far more important matters to address,” Paterno said. “I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.”
Paterno has been besieged by criticism since Sandusky was charged over the weekend. Athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz have been charged with failing to notify authorities after an eyewitness reported a 2002 assault.
Paterno decided to retire at age 84, in the middle of his 46th season with the Nittany Lions. He won 409 games, a record for major college football, but now, the grandfatherly coach known as “Joe Pa,” who had painstakingly burnished a reputation for winning “the right way,” leaves the only school he’s ever coached in disgrace.
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article courtesy of CBSNEWS.com
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