Penn State Removes Famed Joe Paterno Statue Outside the PSU Beaver Stadium in Wake of Sandusky Sex Abuse Convictions

The dominoes continue to fall in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse convictions …

The statue of the iconic football coach, the late Joe Paterno, was taken down Sunday morning outside of Penn State Universities football stadium. The removal of Paterno’s statue was in response to the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse convictions where he was found guilty on 45 counts.  The Joe Paterno statue, weighing more than 900 pounds, was built in 2001 in honor of JoePa’s record setting 324th Division 1 coaching victory and his “contributions to the university.” All gone, a lifetime’s work to help students, Penn St. and the community thanks to a sexual predator and efforts not done to handle the Sandusky matter appropriately.

GONE … JOEPA STATUE REMOVED

The famed statue of Joe Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday, eliminating a key piece of the iconography surrounding the once-sainted football coach accused of burying child sex abuse allegations against a retired assistant.

Workers lifted the 7-foot-tall statue off its base and used a forklift to move it into Beaver Stadium as the 100 to 150 students watching chanted, “We are Penn State.”

The removal of the Paterno statue comes as an aftershock of the Freeh Report following the school’s investigation into the child sex abuse scandal against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Joe Paterno statue removed; however, the library name to remain. Ok, let me see if I understand this, Joe Paterno’s sports contributions are bad, and his academic one’s are good. Hmm, I am not sure if I really agree with this. According to the university president it is all about “symbolism”. Sorry, but its hard to differentiate the two. Do I think it is heinous and incredible wrong for Paterno not to have done more against child predator Sandusky, YES! However, what if Joe Paterno’s name was on Beaver Stadium? Does that mean it get’s removed from the football field, but not the library? Sorry, that makes no sense. You can’t have it both ways. If as some say, Paterno is no hero, well then how is he one for academics?

He said Paterno’s name will remain on the campus library because it “symbolizes the substantial and lasting contributions to the academic life and educational excellence that the Paterno family has made to Penn State University.”

Penn State University president Rodney Erickson announced the decision Sunday morning in the following statement:

“Contrary to its original intention, Coach Paterno’s statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond,” said Erickson in a statement. “For that reason, I have decided that it is in the best interest of our university and public safety to remove the statue and store it in a secure location. I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse.”

Joe Paterno Banished to the desert

Trust me, no one is more disappointed in Joe Paterno and I am not a PSU alumni. However, I grew up in the Northeast and in many respects Penn St was our only large college football team, and had friend that attended PSU. I also understand why the statue was removed. That being said, if Paterno has gone from Saint to Satan then it seems like the university is sending a mixed message and splitting the issue. If PSU administrators really believed that Paterno was a distraction and divisive, they would have declared an edict like Ramesses in ‘The Ten Commandments’ to stricken Moses name from all the scrolls, tablets and buildings and banished him to the desert.

It just is mind blowing to me that Sandusky was allowed to have access to PSU facilities and have an office on campus after Paterno was made aware of what Sandusky had done. I just don’t get how Paterno could have been so clueless and jeopardize all the good that he did for Penn State U.