Joe Paterno Widow Agrees to Katie Couric Interview: First Since Sandusky Scandal (PHOTO, VIDEO)
The widow of the former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno has agreed to do a public interview; her first since the Jerry Sandusky scandal first rocked the sport's world.
Sue Paterno was married to her husband for 50 years before he passed in January 2012 from lung cancer. Just two months before, the former Penn State coach was fired from his job after it was revealed that his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, was at the center of a sex scandal.
Sandusky was later convicted of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. For the first time since the charges were announced, Sue Paterno will make a public appearance on the Katie Couric show.
Couric paid a visit to Paterno at the home she once shared with her husband in State College, PA, but Sue will also head to New York for an in-studio interview, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She is scheduled to appear on Feb. 11, the same day the installment is scheduled to air.
Sue has respectfully declined to speak to any reporters since the incident, although no comment was made as to what questions she would be answering in the coming interview. Now a year after her husband's death, many have back her with their support.
"Sue is so brave to be doing this," one user wrote on the Hollywood blog. "I'm really looking forward to the interview."
Before charges against Sandusky were made, a grad. assistant allegedly told Paterno that he had seen Sandusky abusing a 10-year-old boy. The coach responded by notifying Athletic Director Tim Curley about the incident, and later notified Gary Schultz, Vice President of Finance and Business who also oversaw the university police. Paterno was widely criticized, however, for not notifying authorities.