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Paterno Family Speaks Out

HAZLETON — The “Freeh” Report pinned much of the blame of the Penn State scandal on former head coach Joe Paterno, but now the family has rele...

HAZLETON -- The "Freeh" Report pinned much of the blame of the Penn State scandal on former head coach Joe Paterno, but now the family has released their own report from an independent investigation, and Paterno's widow is talking for the first time.

More than one year after the death of former head football coach Joe Paterno, his widowed wife, Sue Paterno, will speak out in an interview with Katie Couric, just hours after the release of an independent report that claims Paterno did not attempt to hide any information about the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal.

"These are children, our lives have been about children. We have five children, we have 17 grandchildren, we worked around all the players. Our lives are about children and making them better," said Sue Paterno in an interview with Katie Couric.

At one of Penn State's branch campuses near Hazleton, we spoke with several students who feel that the coach did not do enough to protect children.

"He definitely could have done more because he did know, so he could have put an end to it then and there," said David Harley, a Penn State student.

"I think he could have done more possibly. I get that he wanted to keep the name of the school, but at the same time he knew what was going on," said Leslie Capozzoli, Penn State student.

During the interview, Sue Paterno claimed she was not able to stomach the fact that young children were being abused.

"It was still hard to accept, but when I read the first charges, I actually got physically ill," said Sue Paterno.

At Penn State's Hazleton campus, there is still a lot of support for Joe Paterno, including a dorm room flag, pointing out Joe's 409 career wins.

"I don't think he actually knew about it, but because he was the head coach he took all the slack, and that's why it all comes down on him," said Michael Gorr, Penn State student.

On Monday, Sue Paterno's interview with Katie Couric will air at 3 p.m. on WNEP.

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