Just when things seem like they can’t get any worse, more dirt comes out about the Penn State child abuse scandal and more decisions have to be made.
This past Sunday the university decided do take down the Joe Paterno statue outside of Beaver Stadium and move it to a more secure location to then decide what to do with it.
The iconic statue of Penn State’s legendary coach has been standing since 2001; it was a popular attraction for both students and visitors. Thousands of pictures have been taken with the statue over the years; it was something that everyone wanted to remember.
And now all they can do is remember. Remember the days past when Paterno was still the most recognizable and respected coach in all of college football — and maybe even in all of sports.
But things have now changed and the iconic image of Paterno is starting to slip away. Most students are still loyal to the legendary coach, but outside of students, alumni, and players not many still view Paterno with the same respect.
The university believed it was in its best interest to take down the statue, it was causing division on the campus. Penn State just wants to show that they are ready to move on.
But the statue isn’t the worst part. On the very next day, this past Monday, Penn State University was hit with hefty sanctions in the wake of the scandal.
The sanctions include: A $60 million fine, a four-year postseason ban, a four-year scholarship reduction, the athletic department on probation for five years, and the vacation of 112 of Joe Paterno’s wins from 1998-2011.
Also, current Penn State players will be allowed to transfer to other schools and get to play right away without having to sit out a year.
Just as the program was trying to move on, it hits another huge bump in the road. This will hinder the Nittany Lions moving forward, keeping top recruits from wanting to play in State College due to the postseason ban.
The university realizes that they have much bigger issues going on right now. They have realized that they can’t allow Paterno to create a divide among students and others around the world, so they made the tough decision to remove the statue.
What seems like a very tough decision might also be a very necessary decision.
Paterno has always been above the rules, given his way a lot of the time. And why not, when things were truly happy in Happy Valley he was on top of the college football world.
But now, after all of this, the removal of his statue is only another indicator of how things have changed. In such a short time, Paterno went from being the most iconic image in college football history to being thrown aside by the university that he loved so much, as if he had never existed at all.
The statue represented all the great things that Paterno did for that university and for that community. But now the empty spot where the statue once laid represents all the scandal that the university went through.
Tyler Rollason is a Winder-Barrow High School graduate and mass communications major at the University of West Georgia. You can e-mail comments about this column to tyrollason@yahoo.com.
