STATE COLLEGE — Eleven former Penn State football players including Franco Harris are calling for a fellow former player to be voted off the school’s Board of Trustees because of how the panel handled the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, including firing longtime coach Joe Paterno.

The board member, former Nittany Lions linebacker Paul Suhey, said in a statement that while he made a “stunningly unpopular decision,” his obligation as a trustee was to vote his conscience.

In a letter dated last week and addressed to other former players, the group said the board’s actions tarnished the reputation and legacy of Paterno, the football program and current coaches and players who had nothing to do with the scandal. The NCAA levied severe sanctions on the program for the scandal, including strict scholarship cuts and a four-year bowl ban.

Among the signers of the letter were former running back Lydell Mitchell, quarterbacks Todd Blackledge and Michael Robinson and linebacker Brandon Short.

Suhey said in a statement late last week that one of the lessons passed down from his coaches was that good leaders can’t be afraid of doing the right thing because it’s unpopular. He said Paterno taught him the importance of integrity.

“My responsibility is to do what I think is right for the university that I love. I had to make what I knew would be a stunningly unpopular decision but I believed then, as I believe now for many reasons, that it was the right decision,” he wrote.