Sources: Joe Paterno's statue stays

[Are_grits_groceries]

The embattled members of Penn State's Board of Trustees quietly have decided to leave Joe Paterno's statue standing -- at least for now and, some hope, forever, according to sources with firsthand knowledge of the trustees' private discussions this week.

The trustees' reluctance to remove the statue is motivated, in part, by a desire not to offend alumni and students who adore the late coach despite the damning findings of his role in the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse cover-up detailed in the Freeh report, the sources said. Some trustees also said in interviews they want to resist being pressured by the media into a sudden decision about such an emotionally charged issue.

Joe Paterno's legacy may have taken a hit but his iconic statue on Penn State's campus will remain for now, according to sources. "You can't let people stampede you into making a rash decision," a trustee said. "The statue represents the good that Joe did. It doesn't represent the bad that he did."

Although some trustees said in discussions Thursday and Friday in board meetings in Scranton, Pa., they believed the statue eventually would have to be torn down, most quickly reached a consensus it should remain standing in the coming weeks and months, trustees and a person briefed on their discussions said. Some trustees went even further, insisting Paterno's statue outside Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., never should be removed.

"It has to stay up," said another trustee. "We have to let a number of months pass, and we'll address it again. But there is no way, no way. It's just not coming down.
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http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8166643/joe-paterno-statue-remain-penn-state-sources-say

They don't want to offend alums and students?

[jberryhill]

1. I'll bet it comes down on its own

[Nay]

11. My first thought as well. nt

[Posteritatis]

18. One can hope. (nt)

[David in Canada]

2. Fucking Football!!!

So, this asshole that was known as Joe Paterno is worshiped at a university like some gridiron Kim Il-Sung because he helped a bunch of young adults throw around a fucking piece of pigskin on a large field of grass!

He did not do anything to make the world a better place. He didn't cure the sick, he didn't tend to the injured, he did not enlighten the ignorant, he did not clothe the poor nor did he feed the starving. Hell, he didn't even compose or paint a masterpiece nor even author a great, timeless tome that enriched our culture.

He basically has a fucking statue because he yelled at young men and got them to throw a fucking piece of pigskin better than anyone else. He received a bunch of useless trophies and made a shitload of money while not doing anything but win a worthless football game. He did nothing to further the progress of humanity. Once the last of the men he coached dies, Paterno's impact on humanity will die with his final breath.

And they don't want to offend their precious alumni (read: cash cows) and their students. Students are there to learn, expand their mind and improve their lives. Not grovel to a piece of metal that has the likeness of a piece of shit pedophile enabler on it.

What about the victims? They aren't contributing cash or blindly worshiping their precious scumbag so they don't count, right? The statue and every trophy 'earned' under Paterno's watch should be melted down. Every accolade, certificate or any ribbons or papers honouring the worthless piece of shit should be placed in a bonfire and burned and his legacy should be reduced to what it deserves to be, total ignominy.

[LuvNewcastle]

5. That's all it's about: money.

As long as there are Paterno-worshipers donating large sums of money to the college, the statue will remain. The people running Penn State are morally bankrupt and Jerry Sandusky is a mere symptom of their illness.

[Punkingal]

3. They still don't get it.

They need to clean house on that board.

[MADem]

4. You know that, in time, as that guy molders in his grave, that young students who aren't quite so

sold on or involved with the "JoPa" experience will eventually start defacing the statue, perhaps in rather rude ways.

The guy was a pedophile enabler. They have a statue of a guy who condoned the sexual assault of children, IN the frigging locker room, up on their campus. It's like having a statue of John Wayne Gacy in full clown regalia at a clown college!




This statue is RIPE for all sorts of defacement and 'additions.' Only a matter of time...

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

12. A blindfold would help.

And they should coverup his hard-on.

[BeyondGeography]

6. Good to see that Penn State is not breaking with its tradition of moral cowardice

They have been consistently gutless. Why stop now?

[Posteritatis]

17. They're continuing to honor his and Sandusky's contracts, too. (nt)

[former9thward]

29. If they did not honor the contracts they would be sued.

And lose in any court. You just can't break a contract because one of parties does or doesn't do something totally unrelated to the subject matter of the contract.

[Posteritatis]

31. If their contracts lacked termination or moral turpitude clauses, why should I care?

Either they were idiots with the initial contracts by not having outs for those sorts of situations, or they're continuing to pay a rapist and his fan millions of dollars because they think that's somehow the better option.

[Ruby the Liberal]

33. Their retirement contracts.

NYTimes uncovered this weekend that Paterno renegotiated his contract privately with Spanier to be a 2011 year-end retirement starting in January 2011 right after he was in front of the Grand Jury. They agreed to his payouts in August 2011, but didn't tell the board about it until after he was fired in November. The contract stipulated his payout, forgiveness of an interest free loan the school made him, use of a box at the stadium, use of the private jet and other shit.

The board voted to not re-negotiate in April 2012.

Edit - here is the story: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/14/sports/ncaafootball/joe-paterno-got-richer-contract-amid-jerry-sandusky-inquiry.html?_r=3

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

7. Apparently, Paterno fans are hoping the rest of the world forgets what happened soon

and then they can get back to Football Uber Alles and worshipping the prick:

"Across the Penn State campus, sometimes called Happy Valley, football fans and alumni said they expected the rest of the world eventually to move beyond the controversy and allow Paterno's once-sterling reputation to recover.

"I don't think here it will be tarnished," said Drew D'Elia, a 2012 graduate from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, who was milling about an art fair near the campus' Pattee and Paterno Library.

One football fan said it was a stumble akin to drinking one too many and driving. "This was a mistake, same as if Joe had a DUI," said Jim Gilles, from Minneapolis. "The win/loss column for Joe Paterno did not change because of this."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/14/us-usa-crime-sandusky-idUSBRE86C1B320120714

These fools have learned nothing. Tear down the statue. Eliminate the damn football program.
And if the university refuses, then the NCAA should gut the program.

[davidpdx]

13. I agree with changes being made, but I don't think the school should lose their team

Obviously the board and many others should lose their jobs over this. A statue of someone really should never be put up until after they retire. If that had been the case there would have been no statue at all given the circumstance.

I'm not a graduate of Pennsylvania State University (PSU), I actually went to the other PSU

[mythology]

19. Why shouldn't the football team be disbanded?

The university chose to put football above all else. There is no other way to ensure that the message gets through that football is secondary to the purpose of the university and to basic human decency.

If I were in charge, every person who knew about this, but did nothing would not simply be fired if they are at the university, they would be arrested and have every dollar they made after they knew taken back. They chose to not simply aid and abet a child molester, they were willingly part of a conspiracy to allow the continued rape of children.

The current players can't claim that they are entirely innocent as they continued to be part of the organization even after it was apparent what had been going on. You choose to lay down with dogs, don't complain when you get fleas.

[davidpdx]

34. I agree everyone should be fired and those who can be should be prosecuted

Obviously the football team will be non-existent for years in terms of competitiveness. Hell they probably ought to come and play our team. We suck, but I bet we can bet them.

I'd be in favor of a 2 year suspension of the program, no games, no practice, no recruiting. Then again I have no real say it in, just an opinion.

[spanone]

23. "This was a mistake, same as if Joe had a DUI" god help these sick fucking people.

[tanyev]

8. It'd be a shame if people started leaving food for pigeons all around the statue.

[Aerows]

14. LMAO

That's a great idea!

[obamanut2012]

9. Disgusting

[KharmaTrain]

10. Let It Stand As A Monument To Child Abuse...

At the outset, I want the NCAA to shut down the Penn State program pending a full investigation and that anyone who had any knowledge of Sandusky's actions and participated from this cover up should be prosecuted and removed from any position of responsibility. Penn State will survive without a little football and maybe make not only that school but others think about the high price its paying for putting football not only ahead of academics (isn't that what a university is for? Not a farm system for the NFL and NBA) but human decency and the law.

The figure of "JoePA" will now reek of this scandal as long as the school continues to idolize him and tries to walk away from any further acceptance of responsibility (other than those forced by civil suits) of how corrupt the administration became in its lust to win at all costs. His statue will be a constant reminder of one of the most sorrid scandals to hit a public educational institution.

[Spazito]

15. In leaving the statue, they ensure that the reputation of PSU will be reflected...

in that statue, the appalling behavior of those in power to enable the rape of children. As long as that statue stands, so will the memory stay fresh as to what PSU now stands for, an institution that has NO heart, no soul, imo.

[GeorgeGist]

16. Joe Pa speaks.

"They ask me what I'd like written about me when I'm gone. I hope they write I made Penn State a better place, not just that I was a good football coach."

[Iggo]

20. For now.

[Ruby the Liberal]

21. This board never ceases to amaze me.

Wrong moves, wrong timing, bad reactions - to every inch of this from the statue to Paterno's contract.

Can't someone please get a PR firm up in there, clean house and start over?

[spanone]

22. his pension and his statue stay, but they took away his halo....

i can't wait for the lawsuits to start.....

[Spazito]

28. Took away his halo but gave him a blue ribbon instead...

the blue ribbon signifying he was against child abuse. I'd rather he had left the halo, painting on a blue ribbon is even more disgusting, imo, than the original halo.

[Posteritatis]

32. The ribbon adds a whole extra layer to the offensiveness. (nt)

[Odin2005]

24. I hope it gets vandalized constantly.

[lunatica]

25. Thereby showing the same lack of principles that Paterno showed

[Efilroft Sul]

26. The pigeon lobby, I understand, is pleased.

[Avalux]

27. As a member of the alumni, I demand the statue be removed, AND

that the board of trustees be replaced.

Give the victims, the innocent people who work and attend the school, and those of us who are heartbroken and embarrased by this. I want every reference to Paterno gone so that his legacy disappears.

[DinahMoeHum]

30. It should never have been erected in the first place. . .

. . .not while Paterno was still alive.

Used to be one had to be dead and buried for 5-10 years before a statue would even be considered. And, IIRC, the US Postal Service also has at least a 10-year waiting period for postage stamps to be issued honoring the particular human American. (cartoon figures don't count).

Only banana republic dictators and despots like Saddam Hussein have had statues erected in their likeness while they are still alive.
Quite a dubious achievement for Penn State there.

Take the damn thing down. Now.