STATE COLLEGE — Penn State trustees, faced with continued alumni and student criticism for firing football coach Joe Paterno, this morning released a statement intended to underscore their rationale for his ouster: “failure of leadership” for his actions following a reported sex assault involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

The board found that while Paterno fulfilled a legal obligation to tell his superiors that an employee claimed Sandusky abused a young boy in a shower, it said Paterno should have done more.

“We determined that his decision to do his minimum legal duty and not to do more to follow up constituted a failure of leadership by Coach Paterno,” the trustees wrote.

The trustees report comes after months of criticism from Penn State alumni over Paterno’s firing in November. The Hall of Fame coach died in January after a brief bout with lung cancer.

In their statement, the trustees said they had been asked by the Penn State community to “state clearly” the reasons for Paterno’s dismissal and the removal of the university president.

The board had previously offered its rationale for removing Paterno and President Graham Spanier. But Trustee Keith Eckel said today the board decided to issue another statement now because alumni had continued to ask questions.