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'Shaken' McQueary's email says he told police
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Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary, left, speaks to CBS News correspondent Armen Keteyian on Tuesday. Mr. McQueary is cited by a grand jury report as witnessing Jerry Sandusky sodomizing a 10-year-old boy in a Penn State locker room in 2002.
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary said Tuesday night he is worried about his personal life, his safety and his future in coaching.
He told CBS News that his emotions were "all over the place, just kind of shaken. Crazy."
But Mr. McQueary, who is on paid administrative leave, offered no insight into his testimony to a grand jury in which he said he saw former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually assaulting a child in a locker room shower at the Lasch Football Building in 2002.
"This process has to play out," Mr. McQueary said. "I just don't have anything else to say."
Earlier in the day, The Associated Press reported that Mr. McQueary told a friend from Penn State that he "made sure [the alleged assault by Mr. Sandusky] was stopped" and went to the police about it -- contradicting what was in the grand jury report.
Mr. McQueary's comments, in an email made available to The Associated Press on Tuesday, appeared to add more confusion to the scandal that has enveloped the university. The friend made Mr. McQueary's email, written Nov. 8, available to the AP on Tuesday on the condition he not be identified.
Mr. McQueary, who did not coach in Saturday's 17-14 loss to Nebraska, wrote: "I did stop it, not physically ... but made sure it was stopped when I left that locker room ... I did have discussions with police and with the official at the university in charge of police . ... no one can imagine my thoughts or wants to be in my shoes for those 30-45 seconds ... trust me."
Added Mr. McQueary: "Do with this what you want ... but I am getting hammered for handling this the right way ... or what I thought at the time was right ... I had to make tough impacting quick decisions."
According to the grand jury report, Mr. McQueary testified he spoke to his father and then to ousted head coach Joe Paterno before speaking to athletic director Tim Curley and senior vice president Gary Schultz, who oversaw campus police. Mr. Paterno has not been charged with any crime, and state prosecutors have said he is not a target. Mr. Curley and Mr. Schultz are accused of breaking the law by not going to police but maintain their innocence.
Mr. McQueary's actions also have been scrutinized, with some critics suggesting he didn't do enough after witnessing what he said was the sexual abuse of a child. Emails to McQueary from the AP were not immediately answered Tuesday.
Mr. McQueary serves as the Nittany Lions' wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
Earlier Tuesday, interim coach Tom Bradley declined to answer a question about whether Mr. McQueary's coaching career is over.
"I can't answer that question due to what's going on with the university, any on-going investigation and things," Mr. Bradley said. "I know the players understand that Mike is handling the situation as best I could describe it to the team. They understand I've asked them for their patience as we try to work this out and make some changes."
First Published November 16, 2011 12:00 am
