The Joe Paterno statue has been a lightning rod for controversy over the last few weeks. Penn State has been under pressure from a lot of people after the Freeh Report revealed that Joe Paterno was not the great man that everyone thought he was. People wanted the statue removed and they got their wish as PSU removed the statue from in front of the football field.
July 20, 2012 10:04 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
I applaud Penn State for this decision. The Joe Paterno statue would just cause too much controversy if it remained where it was. People were not happy with the statue still standing and a lot of people may have considered removing the statue by force.
Some PSUers will think this is a coward move by the administrators, but it makes sense in the long run. If you want to begin the process of healing from this incident, the statue had to go. It would have always been a reminder of something that failed a lot of people. Paterno was supposedly a great man but he failed people when it mattered most. You can’t have a statue for something like that.
Trust me, this controversy is far from over. There will be people that demand the statue return to its place. I doubt that the people in charge let that happen but you never know. The Joe Paterno statue served as a reminder of bad stuff that happened. Getting rid of it was the best move going forward.
Riley Schmitt is a writer for Rant Sports.
