BTN.com staff, July 12, 2012
(AP) Joe Paterno and other top Penn State officials buried child sexual abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky more than a decade ago to avoid bad publicity, according to a scathing report Thursday that exposed a powerful "culture of reverence" for the football program and portrayed the Hall of Fame coach as more deeply involved in the scandal than previously thought.
The alleged cover-up by Paterno, then-university President Graham Spanier and two other Penn State administrators allowed Sandusky to prey on other boys for years, said the report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, who was hired by the university's trustees to investigate. Read full AP story.
Other AP stories on the Freeh Report:
- Excerpts from the report on Penn State, Sandusky
- Reaction to Freeh Group's findings on Penn State
- Penn State officials concealed sex abuse
- Freeh report vs. Paterno's statements
- Statement from Paterno family
- Paternos: Late coach didn't cover up at Penn State
National media personalities had their thoughts on the findings, too. See them below:
- CBS Sports' Bruce Feldman: Report shows tragic result of Coach as King culture
- CSNPhilly's John Gonzalez: Paterno's legacy tarnished
- FoxSports' Jen Floyd Engel: Penn State should get death penalty
- ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski: Paterno empowered a predator
- ESPN's Adam Rittenberg: Notes from PSU president, trustees' briefing
- SI's Andy Staples: Penn State leaders can't hide guilt after damning Freeh Report
- USA Today's Christine Brennan: If Penn State is serious, shut down football now
- Washington Post's Sally Jenkins: Joe Paterno showed more interest in legacy than victims
- Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel: Joe Paterno's new legacy