[1] Curley drew criticism for his handling of allegations of anti-gay discrimination by Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland.

Curley, along with Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz, did not report the incident to police, and their discipline of Sandusky was limited to restricting him from bringing underage children to campus.

The grand jury investigating Sandusky ultimately did not find Curley's testimony credible, and indicted him and Schultz for perjury and for failing to report possible abuse.

University President Graham Spanier issued a statement expressing support for both men that said: "Tim Curley and Gary Schultz operate at the highest levels of honesty, integrity and compassion.

[7][8] The report of an independent investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh and his firm stated that Curley, along with Schultz, Spanier and Paterno, had knowledge of past abuse allegations against Sandusky and concealed them, concluding that they "failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade".

Judge John Boccabella was skeptical of Curley's testimony during Spanier's trial when he could not recall conversations related to the decision on to inform authorities about Sandusky's behavior.