Blog: What to Do About the Paterno Statue?

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To its credit, Penn State University didn't wait for the findings of an internal investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child-abuse scandal to implement a new policy regulating access to campus athletic and recreation facilities. It even has plans to renovate the Lasch Building, where some of the abuse took place. But now that the damning Freeh Report has cast legendary head coach Joe Paterno, among other high-ranking PSU officials, in an unenviable light, another facilities-related question confronts the school: What to do about the statue depicting Paterno - leading players onto the field with hand aloft in a number-one sign - that currently stands outside Gate F at Beaver Stadium?

Statues outside sports venues have become increasingly common - honoring coaches and players, even fans - but few honorees have carried the kind of gravitas that Paterno had at the time he was immortalized in bronze nearly a dozen years ago. But now that his mortal weaknesses have been laid bare, conventional wisdom seems to hold that the statue must come down. And it must come down Baghdad-style, according to one individual on Twitter. Berlin Wall-style, said another. A Facebook page has been dedicated to the cause. Sports blogger Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead tweeted, "Statue? Same idiot Penn St students who marched/rioted the night Paterno was canned should go tear down the statue themselves." Green Bay Packers tight end Tom Crabtree (who attended Miami of Ohio) volunteered for duty, stating, "I mean, if no one else is gonna do it, I'll take a sledgehammer to Paterno's statue."

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