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.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!