The trustees of Penn State University, addressing the firing of legendary football coach Joe Paterno, say he was ousted for "failure of leadership" after a reported sexual assault in 2002 involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky.  The board has faced steady criticism from alumni and students for dimissing Paterno, who died in January at the age of 85.  In its statement, the board says the trustees had been asked by the Penn State community to "state clearly" the reasons for Paterno's dismissal and the removal of the university president, the Associated Press reports.  The trustees, in a statement, say they found that although Paterno fulfilled a legal obligation to tell his superiors that an employee had claimed in 2002 that Sandusky abused a young boy in a shower, he should have done more.  "We determined that his decision to do his minimum legal duty and not to do more to follow up constituted a failure of leadership by Coach Paterno," the trustees wrote.  Last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who played a role in Paterno's removal, told WPVI-TV, in one of his first comments on the case, that Paterno should have done more after hearing the initial allegations.  "He did a great deal for Penn State. I wish he would have followed up after he made that report," Corbett said.  The trustees apologized for firing Paterno by phone in a late-night call.  "We saw no better alternative," the trustees said. "Because Coach Paterno's home was surrounded by media representatives, photographers and others, we did not believe there was a dignified, private and secure way to send board representatives to meet with him there."  Sandusky is accused of sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year span. He has denied the allegations.  A graduate assistant's claim that he saw Sandusky sexually abusing a young boy inside a football building on the university campus in 2002 is one of 10 such allegations brought by the state attorney general's office.  The first round of charges against Sandusky was filed Nov. 5, four days before Paterno was fired and university President Graham Spanier was forced to resign.
Penn State trustees say Joe Paterno was fired for 'failure of leadership' in handling sex abuse allegations against Jerry Sandusky.