By Fitzgerald Cecilio

State College, PA

Joe Paterno's legacy as coach of the famed, if deeply troubled, Penn State football program took another hit as university officials opted to remove a statue of the deceased ex-legend from outside Beaver Stadium.

The move comes after a report alleged that Paterno was part of a cover-up into child sex-abuse allegations against former assistant Jerry Sandusky.

Paterno's former assistant is awaiting sentencing after being convicted last month on 45 criminal counts for the abuse of 10 boys over a 15-year period.

"Coach Paterno's statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our university and beyond," President Rodney Erickson said today in a statement on the school's website. "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."

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

 

 

Penn State Removes Joe Paterno Statue Outside Stadium