Joe Paterno's Weekly Penn St. Press Conference Canceled Amid Jerry Sandusky Sex Scandal

Penn St. football coach Joe Paterno's weekly press conference was canceled Tuesday amid the growing sex scandal involving former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

The university pulled the plug on the presser an hour before the conference was about to start, saying in a statement, "Due to the ongoing legal circumstances centered around the recent allegations and charges, we have determined that today's press conference cannot be held and will not be rescheduled."

Paterno meets with local press every Tuesday to discuss the week's upcoming game; Penn St. earlier told reporters that no questions about Sandusky would be allowed at Tuesday’s conference.

Sandusky is charged by the state of Pennsylvania with the sexual assaults or advances on eight boys from 1994 to 2009, notes Businessweek. He was the head of the Second Mile charity at the time, as well as Paterno’s defensive coordinator until his retirement at the end of the 1999 season.

Two Penn St. employees, athletic director Timothy Curley and interim vp for finance and business Timothy Curley, were arraigned Monday on charges that they knew about the alleged crimes but did not report them.

Paterno, 82, is under fire for not reporting the suspected abuse -- which a graduate student told him about in 2002 -- to the police. The grad student told a grand jury he saw Sandusky sexually assaulting a naked boy via anal sex in the Penn State locker room shower.

According to CNN, Paterno told reporters Tuesday afternoon after team practice, "I know you guys have a lot of good questions, and I'd like to answer them, but I can't do it now."

Penn St.’s Saturday game against Nebraska will be televised by ESPN.