Rumors flying around State College, PA late last week suggested that Penn State would take down the statue of Joe Paterno outside of Beaver Stadium sometime over the weekend and Sunday morning those rumors became realities.
As crews began prepping for its removal, Penn State President Rodney Erickson has released a statement regarding the University’s decision to take down the statue amid the controversy that Joe Paterno covered up child rape by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
I now believe that, contrary to its original intention, Coach Paterno’s statue has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing in our University and beyond. For that reason, 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.
Here is video of crews removing the statue using a forklift and jack hammers to accomplish the process. To limit the media and general public accessibility to the site the University also surrounded the area with blue tarp.
No word yet from Penn State if they will replace the statue with something else.
Hmm… the picture below reminds me of something else I’ve seen in my lifetime…
Earlier last week, a plane was seen flying around the University with a message tailing from its end saying that if Penn State didn’t remove the statue of Paterno, “we will”. Obviously the University wanted to eliminate any possibilities that the statue would be subject to vandalism going forward.
Either way it’s something that had to be done and something that should’ve been done as soon as the Freeh report was released.
Ref: The Big Lead, Associated Press