Bill Cosby Resigns From Temple University Board of Trustees
The move comes amid more allegations of sexual assault.
— -- Days after resigning as fundraising co-chair at the University of Massachusetts, Bill Cosby has now resigned from the Board of Trustees at Temple University.
Cosby attended Temple from 1961 to 1962, where he was a track and football star.
"I have always been proud of my association with Temple University. I have always wanted to do what would be in the best interests of the university and its students. As a result, I have tendered my resignation from the Temple University Board of Trustees," Cosby said Monday in an official statement.
Temple University added, "The Board of Trustees accepts Dr. Cosby's resignation from the board and thanks him for his service to the university.”
The 77-year-old comedian had been on the Temple board since 1982.
With the number of sexual abuse accusers well above a dozen in recent weeks, Temple Board Chairman Patrick O'Connor told The Associated Press that Cosby does not want to be a distraction to the board.
Temple University was actually at the center of the first abuse claim in 2004, when university employee Andrea Constand claimed the comedian drugged and assaulted her. Along with several women coming forward in the last month, a former NBC employee Frank Scotti told the New York Daily News that he paid off eight women on Cosby's behalf, allegedly sending thousands of dollars in money orders to the women to keep them quiet.
With all the media buzz around the comedic legend, he's cancelled a number of stand-up shows and networks like TV Land have pulled reruns of "The Cosby Show."
Last week, Cosby, who has vehemently denied the allegations all along, finally commented, saying, "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."
Cosby's lawyer Martin Singer has also spoken up for the comedian: "The new, never-before-heard claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40, or even 50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity.
"These brand new claims about alleged decades-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous, and it is completely illogical that so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years."
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