Penn State alums in Los Angeles are rallying together in the wake of child sex accusations surrounding the university's football program and the violent reaction on their beloved campus.
"Everybody has really reached out and shown their support," said Rory Maloney, a 2005 graduate of Penn State and a member of the Penn State Los Angeles alumni group. "You don’t want this to happen but if it does, you have to stick together as human beings."
The firing of head coach Joe Paterno and university president, Graham Spanier, was necessary, he added.
"On behalf of Penn State as a whole, prayers go out to the victims and their families first and foremost," Maloney said. "From there you kind of have to feel it out and let the process take its course."
Maloney said he understands the love of coach Paterno and Penn State, but is embarrassed by the reactions of students rioting in the streets Wednesday night.
"We hate to think that our name would be dragged through the mud and anytime anybody asks you your college, and you say Penn State, you are going to get a negative connotation," said Maloney.
The allegations and university’s reaction also struck a nerve with students on the UCLA campus.
"A group of people's actions representing an entire university is a shame,” said student Evan Tang.
Similar news would be a blow to the confidence and conscience of members of the UCLA community, students told NBC4.
"Sports are such a huge part of our world here," said UCLA senior Margaret Macky. "It gives us school spirit and school pride and all that. I totally understand being really upset about that."
At UCLA, there is a sense that this too shall pass.
"I think in a year or two people will get past it and rebound pretty well," said UCLA Senior Ian Weinberg.
On Thursday, new allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky surfaced. Sandusky is now rumored to have "pimped" out his alleged victims to rich donors of his Second Mile Foundation.
Pennsylvania sportswriter, Mark Madden, made the statement during an appearance on WEEI in Boston Thursday morning. In April, Madden published an article that claimed Sandusky was forced out of Penn State in 1999 because of a sex scandal.
Sandusky retired at 55 in 1999, a year after Pennsylvania police investigated, but did not prosecute him, for allegedly molesting a boy.
Meanwhile, TMZ is reporting that coach Mike McQueary will participate in Saturday’s game against Nebraska. However, the Penn State board of trustees has reportedly asked new head football coach Tom Bradley to keep McQueary away from the sidelines out of fear for McQueary's safety.
According to Pennsylvania’s Morning Call newspaper, the board does not plan to fire McQueary or ask him to step down. McQueary is the person who claims he witnessed Sandusky raping a pre-teen boy in the Penn State locker room in 2002 and reported it to then-head coach Paterno.
On Wednesday, the board of trustees fired Paterno. Paterno is under intense criticism for not going to authorities after learning of allegations against Sandusky. As many as 2,000 students gathered on the Penn State campus Wednesday night to support Paterno and it got out of hand. Among the most serious incidents, students toppled a television news van and hit a photographer with a rock.
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