Tearing Down Joe Pat Statue? Yeah or Nay?

Joe Paterno Statue at Penn State

Joe Pat... should his statue stay or go? Ever since the Freeh report came out there has been a vocal group who are shouting "Take it down!" Others say "No way, Joe should stay!" From students, former students, and football fans and former football players and citizens, everyone has their own opinion.

In an interiew with the Altoona Mirror, former New York Jets NFL player John Ebersole, a former top Penn State player in the 60's who currently lives in South Carolina, firmly believes Joe's statue should stay in it's place of pride in front of Beaver Stadium.

He is quoted as saying "I'm still a firm believer Joe never knew what was all going on, so it they tear down the statue I think they're crazy." He contends that "Joe is Penn State," and "I mean, it's never going to change with me. I'll admire the guy until the end."

Admire a man who the Freeh Reports says may have been complicit in covering up child abuse going on right under his nose? Sounds to me like Ebersole is still entrenched in the Happy Valley mentality of "Football is All!" Did he hear the Freeh report that revealed Joe and key Penn State administrators "concealed critical facts" about Jerry Sandusky's sexual abuse of minors.  Minors! Sexual abuse! For more than 10 YEARS! Where is this man's head? No football program is more important that the well being of children.

Still others have called for the immediate suspension of Penn State's football program as part of the NCAA. Others more specifically want the Joe Pat statue taken down. The argument will continue for some time or until the statue comes down.

Former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden believes that statue should come down, but his reasons have more to do with promoting football than Joe Paterno's knowledge of Sandusky's actions. He still believe Joe was a great man but in a radio interview with Cory Giger he said:

"Should his statue be removed? In my opinion, yes," Bowden said. "Now the reason is, Penn State's job now is to try to forget this thing. But every time somebody walks by and sees that statue, they're not going to remember the 80 good years, they're going to remember this thing with (former assistant coach Jerry) Sandusky."

"Just think, every time you go to a ballgame at Penn State and they shine a camera on that statue, that's going to be brought up again. So if I was Penn State, if I was Joe's family, I'd say, 'move on from all that stuff.'"

I guess we all have our reasons, but many of us say 'take it away!'

I am personally appalled that Happy Valley, in pursuit of the power of their football program allowed this atrocity to continue. Face it, in Happy Valley football is king. If someone who coached the debate team had acted in the same way they would have been gone and prosecuted a long time ago. But Penn State worships at the altar of football. Long live football, so at Penn State they let Sandusky continue breaking the law and continue sexually abusing minors. How many lives did Penn State ruin so they could win a game of football? How many young men were assauted and never reported it?

Some argue that Penn State's football program can't be pulled by the NCAA because it isn't covered under their rules. They'll pull a program for giving players fancy cars but NOT for not reporting ongoing abuse of children? Hmmm, something wrong in this picture.

Are you for or against tearing down the Joe Pat statue at Penn State? Did the good Joe Pat did while at Penn State outweigh his grievous lack of a moral compass in the Sandusky matter? Are you a pro Joe? Tell me what you think they should do with the statue of Joe Paterno at Penn State. If it was your decision what would you do?

Up The Chain Of Command

Up The Chain of Command
The Rise and Fall of Joe Paterno, A Hero With Feet of Clay?

Photo by Greg Grieco

Today is the final day for people to pay their respects to Penn State icon, former football coach, Joe Paterno.  Paterno will be buried Wednesday afternoon in a private ceremony. The question being asked as former players, co-workers, and Penn State students pay their respects is: Was Joe Paterno a hero and role model or an example of putting the mighty school machine above the individual.

Penn State staff and students are split on whether JoePa should have been fired for not reporting an alleged incident of child abuse to the police when administrators at Penn State did not take further action against Penn State's former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno was dismissed after a 62 season career, 46 as Penn State's head coach for not following up after making the initial report of alleged abuse to the administration. Paterno, a long time record-setting coach at Penn State, was responsible for bringing Penn State to the fore of college football. He was also a well known philanthropist and advocate for the University.

With Paterno's firing a significant split occurred between his family and the university. Whether his family and the university will heal their breech is unknown at this time. Will Paterno's legacy at Penn State be football or a morality play?

What do you think? Paterno the man? the hero? the coach? the role model? Where did he fail and why?   Yes, Paterno is from a generation that didn't actively discuss child abuse. Is that an excuse? Paterno did report up the chain of command, but did he have a responsibility to take it further when they didn't? Would you want your son being coached by a man who wasn't willing to protect them from an alleged predator? Will Paterno remain a role model for young men and women who want to go into coaching sports?  And did this one poor decision make him a bad man, a bad coach, a bad role model? Is Joe Paterno a hero with feet of clay?

Each individual will have to make that decision on their own. Anyone who has been a victim of child abuse will probably have a far different viewpoint than those who have enjoyed a child/young adulthood free from abuse and untouched by a predator.

In the end, Paterno was a man. Not infallible. He made decisions, some good, some bad. Maybe the most important thing we can learn from this story is to stand up for what's right, no matter the cost. Paterno paid a high price for not doing the right thing when he was faced with a co-worker being accused of alleged assault. For not following through, because it was easier to lay the blame on those higher up the chain of command.

What's lost in this story? The price paid by all the children/young adults who were allegedly assaulted. While all the students and former players are voicing their support for Joe, who is voicing their support for the children involved?

I hope our local school districts learn a lesson from this whole sad situation. Sad for those assaulted, sad for their families, sad for the college, and yes, sad for Joe Paterno, a man at the end of his illustrious career whose last days were tainted by this sad situation.

If a child comes to you with a complaint about sexual assault, please don't brush it off saying 'boys will be boys.'  Or shove it up the chain of command and presume it's not your problem.  Abuse is everyone's problem. Any child who brings a complaint alleging assault by a school employee or by another student within a school building deserves the support of the school district personnel.  Don't brush them off.  Don't shove it up the chain of command. Follow through. Don't make Joe Paterno's mistake.