Penn State abuse scandal takes another twist: Mike McQueary on leave – NFL News
The child abuse scandal that has engulfed the Penn State football team took another twist as their assistant coach Mike McQueary has been put on leave due to multiple threats to him before their Saturday game.
He has been placed on the administrative leave with immediate effect and will not have an opportunity to witness the club's home game, which could have been his last game.
McQueary had disclosed to the Head Coach Joe Paterno that he had witnessed the former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky abusing a young boy.
However, the incident was never reported to police as claimed by the police last week following Paterno’s firing, for his failing to bring the issue to light or reporting to police. He was fired on Wednesday.
McQueary had told a grand jury that he was witness to the incident in which Sandusky, who is 67 now, had abused a young boy at the campus football complex, adding the incident was reported to the head coach by him.
The assistant coach has reportedly received multiple threats before the weekend game so he was placed on the administrative leave.
"It became clear that coach McQueary could not function in this role under these circumstances," Rod Erickson told a news conference. The president also said that there will be extra security measures for the Saturday game.
However, there was also a large support in favour of the fired Paterno. Thousands of the Penn State students came onto streets to protest the decision of firing him. There were also some reports of rioting at some places. The Penn
State team officials have also been criticized for not providing backing to the coach at the time of the need.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama said that the scandal should lead to "Soul-searching" for all Americans. He said that it should be their responsibility to speak against any mistreatment and should not rely on the bureaucracy.
Paterno’s absence and the assistant coach is expected to leave some impact on the game on Saturday, as there are fears of further protests and rioting by the university students. To avoid this, security has been heightened around
the stadium and nearby areas.
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