Sandusky: I’m not a pedophile

MATT LAUER, co-host: This interview with former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky 's making a lot of headlines this morning.

ANN CURRY, co-host: That's right . And now this morning with The New York Times reporting that close to 10 more suspected victims have come forward since the story broke, this story's just going to grow.

LAUER: Sandusky has remained largely silent until last night. He gave his first extensive interview to NBC 's Bob Costas , and Bob joins us this morning. Bob , good morning.

BOB COSTAS reporting: Matt, Ann , good morning. First, a word of warning. The content of this interview is not appropriate for children. It's a blunt conversation, Jerry Sandusky admitting to showering with young boys , but beyond that denying any sexual misconduct .

Mr. JERRY SANDUSKY: I say that I am innocent of those charges.

COSTAS: Innocent? Completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Well, I could say that, you know, I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact . But, so if you look at it that way there are things that wouldn't -- you know, would be accurate.

COSTAS: Are you denying that you had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of these underage boys?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Yes, I am. Yes, I am.

COSTAS: Never touched their genitals, never engaged in oral sex ?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Right.

COSTAS: What about Mike McQueary , the grad assistant who in 2002 walked into the shower, where he says in specific detail that you were forcibly raping a boy who appeared to be 10 or 11 years old?

Mr. SANDUSKY: I would say that that's false.

COSTAS: What would be his motive to lie?

Mr. SANDUSKY: You'd have to ask him that.

COSTAS: Are you a pedophile?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: How would you account for so many accusations coming from different people at different times, many of whom undoubtedly feel shame over this, so they have no apparent motive to expose themselves to what might come along with this? They have no apparent motive. You have an obvious motive to either deny to yourself or to deny to us what you've been accused of. What's their motive to make the accusations?

Mr. SANDUSKY: I can't account for, you know, their motives to make those allegations. I -- you know, that's not for me to say. That would be for them to say.

COSTAS: What did happen in the shower the night that Mike McQueary happened upon you and the young boy ?

Mr. SANDUSKY: OK, we were showering and horsing around, and he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor, and we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel, horseplay.

COSTAS: In 1998 , a mother confronts you about taking a shower with her son and inappropriately touching him. Two detectives eavesdrop on her conversations with you, and you admit that maybe your private parts touched her son. What happened there?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Well, I can't exactly recall what was said there. In terms of what I did say was that if he felt that way then I was wrong and I didn't want to leave that kind of impression. I did lift him, and that's what I said.

COSTAS: Shortly after that in 2000 , a janitor said that he saw you performing oral sex on a young boy in the showers in the Penn State locker facility. Did that happen?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: How could somebody think they saw something as extreme and shocking as that when it hadn't occurred, and what would possibly be their motivation to fabricate it?

Mr. SANDUSKY: You'd have to ask them.

COSTAS: It seems that if all of these accusations are false, you are the unluckiest and most persecuted man that any of us has ever heard about.

Mr. SANDUSKY: I don't know what you want me to say. I don't think that these have been the best days of my life. The false allegations have stripped, you know, so much of our life away and so many things that are dear to us. So.

COSTAS: You say you're not a pedophile.

Mr. SANDUSKY: Right.

COSTAS: But you're a man who by his own admission has showered with young boys , highly inappropriate, who has continually put himself in the presence of young boys . Volunteer high school coach, volunteer at a small local college, even after you had largely disassociated from Penn State , multiple reports of you getting into bed with young boys who stayed at your house in a room in the basement. How do you account for these things? And if you're not a pedophile, then what are you?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Well, I'm a person that has taken a strong interest, I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people . I had worked very hard to try to connect with them, to make them feel good about themselves, to be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten, depending on -- I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives.

COSTAS: But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come.

Mr. SANDUSKY: I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward, many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life. And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have -- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways.

COSTAS: Are you sexually attracted to young boys , to underage boys?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Am I sexually attracted to underage boys?

COSTAS: Yes. Are you sexually attracted to young boys , to underage boys?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Am I sexually attracted to underage boys?

COSTAS: Yes.

Mr. SANDUSKY: Sexually attracted ? No, I enjoy young people . I love to be around them, I -- but no, I'm not sexually attracted to young boys .

COSTAS: When Mike McQueary saw what he says was a rape in the shower in 2002 he reported it the next day to Joe Paterno . To your knowledge, did Joe Paterno have any information regarding objectionable activities on your part prior to that report in 2002 ?

Mr. SANDUSKY: My -- I can't totally answer that question. My answer would be no. I mean, that would be my guess. I don't think he had information.

COSTAS: Did Joe Paterno at any time ever speak to you directly about your behavior?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: Never.

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: You were around the program, you used the weight room up until recently. You were seen at Penn State events. How did Joe Paterno greet you? What was your interaction like with him subsequent to 2002 ?

Mr. SANDUSKY: He greeted me as he always had. If I saw him at football practice he was cordial. We didn't see each other very much. I -- the last time I saw him was this summer at a golf outing.

COSTAS: He never asked you about what you might have done?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: He never asked you if you needed help, if you needed counseling?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No. No.

COSTAS: Never. Never expressed disapproval of any kind?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No.

COSTAS: How do you feel about what has happened to Penn State and to Joe Paterno and to the Penn State football program and your part in it?

Mr. SANDUSKY: How would you think that I would feel about a university that I attended, about people that I've worked with, about people that I care so much about and, I mean, how do you think I would feel about it? I feel horrible. And...

COSTAS: Do you feel guilty?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Guilty?

COSTAS: Do you feel it's your fault?

Mr. SANDUSKY: No, I don't think it's my fault. I've obviously played a part in this, but I don't think that I should have been...

COSTAS: How would you -- how...

Mr. SANDUSKY: ...I should be accused as I have been.

COSTAS: How would you define the part you played? What are you willing to concede that you've done that was wrong and you wish you had not done it?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Well, in retrospect, I, you know, I shouldn't have showered with those kids, you know, so.

COSTAS: That's it?

Mr. SANDUSKY: Well, that -- yeah, well, that's what hits me the most.

COSTAS: Matt, at this point both Jerry Sandusky and his attorney say they are not angling for a plea deal. They intend not to mitigate his guilt but to establish his innocence.

LAUER: Yeah, the first question -- first of all, extraordinary interview. The first thing that comes to my mind is why he would agree to it. I mean, and Ann 's going to speak to his attorney in just a second, we can ask that question, but how would he agree to answer questions in this detail?

COSTAS: Yeah, we included a lot here. We couldn't include that. I did ask his attorney, Joseph Amendola , that same question. And, Ann , I guess, will repeat it. And their feeling is that he has been portrayed in a given way in the realm of public opinion and they want to begin to refute that. I'm not so sure that this accomplished that. That's for others to judge.

LAUER: Again, great job, Bob . Thank you very much .