SCRANTON — Joe Paterno and ousted Penn State President Graham Spanier abdicated their responsibilities in failing to prevent or stop the alleged sexual abuse of children at the hands of a former Nittany Lion assistant coach, a pair of university trustees said.

Trustee Keith Eckel said Thursday that Paterno’s statement expressing regret that he hadn’t “done more” about the alleged abuse by Jerry Sandusky was “probably the most telling as far as us moving forward and looking at the coach,” The Times-Tribune of Scranton reported.

“The trustees expected more,” Eckel said. “It told me that he recognized his stature, his leadership position and that demanded more. The decision of the trustees was not based on the legality. It was based on what we believed was right for the university at that moment and moving forward.”

Another trustee, Barron L. “Boots” Hetherington, told the Pottsville Republican & Herald that neither Paterno nor Spanier rose to the challenge to do the right thing.

“People did the minimum required by the laws of Pennsylvania but, in most cases, it didn’t pass the moral test,” Hetherington said.