Joe Paterno Statue Taken Down at Penn State; Twitter Responses

By Terry Shropshire
Jul 22, 2012
6:58 pm

The Joe Paterno statue was taken down outside Beaver Stadium at Penn State Sunday morning, a fitting symbol of how the winningest coach in college football history has been yanked down from the untouchable perch that he resided over the sport for nearly a half-century.

The statue, like Paterno’s career, had fallen in the wake of his inaction after revelations that his former assistant, Jerry Sandusky, had used the aura of Pennsylvania State University and its storied football program like candy to lull young boys into illicit sexual affairs.

Even more drama is coming Penn State’s way when on Monday when the NCAA will announce “corrective and punitive measures” against the university.

The NCAA gave no indication Sunday morning about the details, the Los Angeles Times reports, although at least two media outlets said that college sports’ governing body would not issue the so-called death penalty and shut down the football program.

This disappoints individuals like sports radio host Max Kerrman, who believes that Penn State and the NCAA is not doing enough to punish the program. “The fact that they (Penn State) still want to name the library after him? Come on, man,” he told the media in disgust.

Meanwhile Sunday, the 7-foot statue of Paterno was lifted off its base and moved into Beaver Stadium. The Associated Press reported that 100 to 150 students watched and some chanted, “We are Penn State.” A number of people who watched the removal of the statue were angry.

In 46 seasons as head coach, Paterno won a major-college-record 409 games and was a larger than life figure in the Penn State community, which made the revelations in the Sandusky case all the more painful and difficult to reconcile.

Below are some of the twitter responses that range from outrage to sheer mockery of the late Paterno and his permanently tainted legacy.

— terry shropshire