Despite assertions in a deposition unsealed Tuesday, UCLA football defensive coordinator Tom Bradley vehemently denied that he had any previous knowledge of inappropriate activity by then-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, who is imprisoned for sexually abusing 10 boys.
Bradley was a coach at Penn State for more than 30 years, briefly serving as interim head coach when Joe Paterno was removed as the Sandusky scandal unfolded in 2011.
“At no time did Tom Bradley ever witness any inappropriate behavior,” Bradley spokesman Brett Senior said. “Nor did he have any knowledge of alleged incidents in the 80’s and 90’s. He has consistently testified as such. Any assertions to the contrary are false.”
According to a 2015 deposition unsealed Tuesday in Pennsylvania, former Penn State assistant coach Mike McQueary — who testified earlier that he saw Sandusky rape a boy in 2001 — said he recalled having a brief discussion with Bradley about the situation.
“He (Bradley) said another assistant coach had come to him in the early ’90s about a very similar situation to mine, and he said that he had — someone had come to him as far back as early as the 80’s about seeing Jerry Sandusky doing something with a boy,” McQueary said, according to the court documents.
McQueary said Bradley identified the other assistant coach as Greg Schiano, now defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
Senior, while denying that Bradley had any prior knowledge of inappropriate activity by Sandusky, said by the time Bradley became aware of the 2001 rape allegation, “it had already been reported to the university administration years earlier.”
Schiano also denied the allegations in McQueary’s deposition, telling ESPN, “I never saw any abuse nor had reason to suspect any abuse during my time at Penn State.”
Sandusky was convicted in 2012 and is serving a 30- to 60-year sentence.
–City News Service