Report: PSU fired Paterno over lack of action

Published Jan. 19, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

A group of Penn State University trustees say they decided to fire legendary football coach Joe Paterno in part because he didn't do enough after learning of an alleged child sex assault involving a former assistant. They also cited concerns Paterno couldn't effectively lead the team in the face of the scandal.

More than a dozen members of the board of trustees discussed their decision in an interview published in Thursday's editions of the New York Times.

Some of the trustees said they were upset by seeing Paterno lead fans gathered outside his home in cheers while the university was engulfed in the worst scandal in its history.

A grand jury investigation found Paterno informed the then-athletic director of a report of a sexual encounter involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky and a young boy, but did not go to police.

Paterno's attorney defended his client's actions, saying the coach did what the thought was right.