Penn State University head football coach Joe Paterno watches his team during practice on November 9, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania.
Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary has been put on administrative leave, ESPN reported Friday. McQueary is a witness in the child sex abuse case involving former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky that came to light this week.
"It became clear that coach McQueary could not function in this role under these circumstances," Penn State president Rodney Erickson said.
McQueary testified in a grand jury investigation that back in 2002 he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a boy in a Penn State locker room. At the time, he reported what he saw to then coach Joe Paterno, who, according to ESPN, then "notified the athletic director, Tim Curley, and a vice president, Gary Schultz, who in turn notified president Graham Spanier." No one contacted law enforcement.
More from GlobalPost: After Joe Paterno fired, crowd erupts at Penn State
Curley and Schultz are charged with failing to report the incident to authorities. Paterno and Spanier have both lost their jobs.
The Patriot-News reported Friday that McQueary had already been barred from Saturday's football game due to "multiple threats" against him.
The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?