THIS IS A PEDOPHILE RING, AT THE CENTER OF WHICH JOE PATERNO reigned KING...There is NO way one man could have perpetrated so many crimes against children without the RING surrounding and sheltering him. The statue is a visible reminder of how organized the scheme actually was and must be removed. Some in the ring were voyeurs, others played active roles in the ring which, like any ring, continues in a tight circle never to be broken because of its hierarchy and the maneuvers, in the name of charity, that kept the money and the innocent children, now men, constantly rotating through its disgusting channels...the merry-go-round ride has ended and may this be an example of how many wolves in sheep's clothing position themselves in institutions of learning and betray parents and children, all in the NAME OF CHARITY, COACHING, and HELPING....
Ron - 12 years ago
Plain and simple. If you leave the statue - it will be a forever reminder of what happened and his role (or lack of - depending on how you want to look at it). Because every time someone visits and sees the statue, their thoughts will be about the scandal - not his accomplishments. Yes, he had many accomplishments. But this scandal will always overshadow and tarnish them. If the Penn State community wishes to honor his accomplishments, their best course would be to have a plaque inside one of the campus classroom buildings - no names on buildings/stadiums/roads etc..
And it is ignorantly naive to believe he knew nothing. You must remember, Joe Pa was to retire and Sandusky was named his predecessor. Why do you think it didn't happen??
Lastly, someone needs to advise the Paterno family to keep their mouths shut. All they are doing is inflaming the situation. Do you actually think he would tell his wife and kids the whole story when in fact he and the administration were covering it up? It is time to accept the situation and move forward. If you real Penn State and Paterno lovers really do care about the school and his legacy, then do the right thing and create a new legacy by turning your attention to the victims and support the efforts in preventing this kind of thing again.
Michael M - 12 years ago
I sit here and shake my head at the idiots in denial defending their deified football coach. Paterno was a pedophile enabler. Every good thing Paterno did is void. He enabled a pedophile to run rampant all in the name of football. He was a piece of shit.
hlk - 12 years ago
What bothers me is that Paterno isn't here to defend himself. And my question is -- Wow, and this guy was paid $6.5 million. And people are assuming that just because Freeh says its so its the truth because he is a former director of the FBI. REally. And he knows everything that was done or said 15 years ago. I doubt it.
And if all of you are so intent on tearing down his statue, then why stop there. Remove all evidence of Joe Paterno form Penn State. Name and likeness. Remove all records of his existence. But remember don't stop there. All coaches, managers and such records who were associated with him during his tenure must be removed as well. Because everyone had to know something and if anyone knew something and never said anything then they are just as guilty. Right. Because if the janitors knew then a coach or teacher somewhere at Penn State had to know something. Because people talk -- right. And don't forget to return his money. Because if he didn't exist at Penn State then that donated money didn't exist either. And remember that's what you all want.
Its funny that Assistant Coach McCreary knew something and in the larger picture didn't do enough to stop it either and he's looked upon in a different light. Wow.
keppy - 12 years ago
leave joe alone he is not here to defened his self.If you ever followed penn state you would know that in 1998 the ones who dropped the ball was DPW and the campus police . How about Tom Corbett why is his name left out of the report? You need to read the whole report not just part of it.
Richard - 12 years ago
Joe Paterno is a disgrace to PSU. He covered up a sick situation and turned away from the issue.
Winning football games is not the bottom line of what life or PSU is about.
The man in the end left a terrible scar on his university and the statue and his name should be removed so that the school can move forward.
anthony - 12 years ago
Take down the Joe Pa statue and the statue of football players (they are on in the same). Joe Pa was PSU football and unfortunately like in many institutions the football program runs the show. It is the money maker, the power source and often times overshadows the excellent work and programs of learning that it offers. In this case it was allowed to overshadow the sick, perverted nature of one man. One man's depraved actions were overlooked so other kids could play football.
So why stop at the statue, tear down the stadium. The 100,000 people there did not want this truth to be known out of fear of losing the glory and all that is HOLY of PSU football.
Unfortunately, many of us know the problem is bigger than PSU. The NCAA will throw a program under the bus for Tattoos and have always overlooked the problems these powerful programs create. They pick the petty stuff so they look efficient and will shy away from the things they will make them all look bad when they are uncovered. Otherwise how could many of the programs out there field a team when the have more athletes on probation (not academic) or parole than will actually graduate.
Although this is a very severe case and very disturbing/disgusting it highlights the lack of moral standards, or better yet the shear blindness to moral standards that comes with powerful sports programs.
Many will offer opinions stating we should not rush to judgement...... Many did not rush until this story came about, however even though I am not a betting person, I will take the bet that many of the stubborn, die hard, "non-rushers to judge" are HONESTLY not surprised by the finding but heartbroken that their worst fears are true.
When we hide and do not want to know or hear the truth we are no better than all those involved in this case and look where that got the innocent kids!!!!
Dave - 12 years ago
Joe H - Good to hear that you know more about this case than the former director of the FBI could put together in an 8 months of investigation...tirelessly sorting through emails, paper records, and personal interviews with 400+ people.
It comes down to this...there are certain people, several who have posted below, who will never accept the mountains of evidence against Joe Pa as valid because they are unable to remove themselves from the situation emotionally. There are others, several who have posted below, who will say that all the overall good Joe Pa did in his lifetime outweighs the what he didn't do to help stop Sandusky and save his future victims. For the rest of us...the evidence against Joe Pa is just too great to deny, and none of the good he has done in his life is enough to forget that he buried his head in the sand for 14 years about what Sandusky may have been up to. When this is all said and done, though, I wouldn't want to look back and say, "Damn, I was defending somebody who looked the other way in cases of child molestation."
Joe H, you made a point to state the "fact" that McQueary never told Joe Paterno any specifics and just said they were horsing around. This is a fact to you because in your mind nothing Joe Paterno ever said is possible of being less than the full honest truth. So, assuming that you're right Joe Pa knew Sandusky was investigated in 1998 for inappropriate behavior with a minor in the shower, and now McQueary is saying he witnessed the same thing again. That's enough right there for any decent person to ensure that the matter is fully investigated by the authorities...regardless of whatever actions your superiors want to take. Also, it IS very ANNOYING when you put certain WORDS in CAPS to try to make your message sound MORE valid.
Joseph J. Herschberger - 12 years ago
As a former Penn State Student 1969-1972 I want to say that I STILL support the INTEGRITY of Coach Joe Paterno.He was NOT told in a clear way as to what SANDUSKY DID TO THE BOY IN THE SHOWER.Coach Paterno was told by assistant coach McCreary that He heard Sandusky" horsing around" with the boy.Nothing of a sexual nature ever crossed the mind of Coach Paterno.Paterno being a family man was too descent of a man to think along the low level of what his former defensive coach may have been engaging in.I doudt seriously that Coach Joe Paterno had clear knowledge and clearly understood that Sandusky was engaging in overt homosexual activity with young boys on Penn State property and then try to cover up this kind of activity.Paterno was too decent of a man to tolerate such activity.Had he known what actually was happening right under his nose all of those years you can be sure he WOULD have put an IMMEDIATE stop to it.He would have punched Sandusky in the mouth had he trully known what Sandusky was doing to young impressionable boys.Coach Paterno was a Teacher first and a football coach second on his priority list.He would NEVER cover up homosexual activity or any other illicit behavior under his authority and control.I don't believe the FBI report implicating Coach Paterno.Investigators make misstakes and that IS what may have occured here.For Paterno to be guilty of covering up something so heinous and continue as a leading college football coach he would have to have had a Jekal and Hyde personality which he surely did NOT! The full story is NOT yet revealed something else is going on here. There seems to be an effort on the part of some for a RUSH to judgement and to SMEAR the reputation of one of America's greatest winningest college coaches. The real truth is yet to be revealed I believe.Joe H.
CATHERINE - 12 years ago
I always listened to the way people spoke about Joe Paterno and thought it was like the people who drank the Kool Aid with Jim Jones - - scary. I've thought for a long time that he'd been in that position for too long. Based on one of his recent statements, I thought it was presumptuous of him to think he could/should determine when/if he should resign. Long before today, I thought the statue should be torn down. Today, I think they should throw a rope around it and drag it through the streets. If his family/fans want it, they should put it up in their yards as a reminder of how easy it seems to be for people to look the other way when children (or anyone) are being hurt. Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Whatever "good" Joe Paterno did in his life was completely negated when he, in doing nothing, condoned the evil that was done to those children.
SmarterthanYou - 12 years ago
So, what is all the "good" that Joe did which justifies this statue? Please tell me? Give away money he gain through his ability as a coach and protect the University's reputation by any means necessary? Are you serious? It completely amazes me that people's feelings for SPORTS figures will trump basic morality.
You are the people being emotional and letting your feelings for a FOOTBALL COACH blind you to the facts that he failed morally. You are failing to put this into perspective out of some misplaced feeling of respect for his coaching ability.
Heck, OJ Simpson was ACQUITTED of double murder, but I bet you JoePA defenders were the first ones to think that he deserved to rot in jail for the rest of his life.
Paterno was a great coach, fine, even if he was the molester himself no one can take that away, but the fact remains he was a flawed human being; and his flaws allowed the destruction of innocent lives. Just deal with it.
trish - 12 years ago
The statue must be removed. For those of you that don't think so, you will always have your good memories, and I respect that. But, it has been badly tarnished, and it will forever be a symbolic reminder of what he failed to do, and the unspeakable crimes against young boys. What he and others did was horrible far beyond his coaching career, and who would want a statue for that. Also, I'm sure that it will be vandalized and looked upon by many as vile. In some ways, taking it down is the right thing to do for his memory.
Leslie C - 12 years ago
I think even asking this question is a rush to judgement based on emotion. Take time to get the full story. I'm not convinced the Freeh report is that. Taking down the statue is a rash act that shouldn't be done just to satisfy emotions.
jwg-psurd - 12 years ago
Wow.....JoePa did NOT commit these crimes! What news are you listening too? What about the good the man did and continues to do thru his legacy and the way he raised his family? I hope I am judged in the end, for my "Whole" contribution to life and the totality of people I affected! Save the statue and his contributions to Penn State!!!
Eic - 12 years ago
WOW, so glad my mom decided to move out of PA before I was born. How can 28% want to honor someone who protected a child rapist. Greg, Anonymous and SUE , wow you are either pedophiles or idiots.
mike - 12 years ago
I was a joe pa fan, but after learning his involment was much more widespread then i thought. i cannot in good consience look the other way after hearing what the allegations were in 1998 and following the case and hearing from McQEARY in 2001 and it appears he wa sthe one who nix them from going to the Authorities you can blame the other three but how Joe Pa Could live with himself after everytime seeing Sandusky and not even having the Guts to confront him is beyound belief.
Sue - 12 years ago
Leave Joe rest in peace. Leave the statue stand. Why is Mc Queary still there? He could have followed up on things and made sure he reported to the proper authorities!
Robert - 12 years ago
so because Joe Pa did not use email it makes all the findings in this investigation and all the emails sent by Curley, Schultz, and Spanier irrelevant? you're a fool, Greg.
Dirt - 12 years ago
I want to see that disgraceful Joe Pa statue pulled down with a noose by an angry mob...Saddam statue in Baghdad style.
Dave - 12 years ago
Greg Czar - There was enough reason before this report was released to teat that statue down...it should have never been put up. Let's stick to the facts and not even consider the mountains of circumstantial evidence against Joe; He knew Sandusky was accused of inappropriate behavior with children in 1998, he was informed in 2001 by McQueary of another alleged incident, he waited a couple days to tell his superiors about this incident so that he wouldn't ruin their weekend (no regard to the possibly raped child who could still be in the presence of Sandusky as McQueary is telling him this), and then later stated that he was shocked when learning about the allegations against Sandusky in 2011. He never showed any concern for the alleged victims in the incidents nor any concern for any future victims of Sandusky.
The problem with so many Penn State fans is that they glorified Joe Paterno to a god-like status and worship this man like some kind of deity, but this never works out because humans are flawed. When you worship a man you will inevitably be let down in the end. For the thousands of good things Joe Paterno did his integrity has been completely crushed due to his lack of responsible behavior in this scenario, and rightfully so.
Anonymous - 12 years ago
Joe Pa has done so many positive things for PSU. Those who are voting to remove his statue are hypocritical ingrates who has all but forgotten that they were once rooting for him. Leave the statue alone. Joe Pa deserves to be remembered for the wonderful things he's done for PSU.
Greg Czar - 12 years ago
Do Not Rush to foolishness.
Those voting to tear his statue down are fools. The whole story has not been told.
Remember the emails are hearsay because Joe Pa did not use email.
THIS IS A PEDOPHILE RING, AT THE CENTER OF WHICH JOE PATERNO reigned KING...There is NO way one man could have perpetrated so many crimes against children without the RING surrounding and sheltering him. The statue is a visible reminder of how organized the scheme actually was and must be removed. Some in the ring were voyeurs, others played active roles in the ring which, like any ring, continues in a tight circle never to be broken because of its hierarchy and the maneuvers, in the name of charity, that kept the money and the innocent children, now men, constantly rotating through its disgusting channels...the merry-go-round ride has ended and may this be an example of how many wolves in sheep's clothing position themselves in institutions of learning and betray parents and children, all in the NAME OF CHARITY, COACHING, and HELPING....
Plain and simple. If you leave the statue - it will be a forever reminder of what happened and his role (or lack of - depending on how you want to look at it). Because every time someone visits and sees the statue, their thoughts will be about the scandal - not his accomplishments. Yes, he had many accomplishments. But this scandal will always overshadow and tarnish them. If the Penn State community wishes to honor his accomplishments, their best course would be to have a plaque inside one of the campus classroom buildings - no names on buildings/stadiums/roads etc..
And it is ignorantly naive to believe he knew nothing. You must remember, Joe Pa was to retire and Sandusky was named his predecessor. Why do you think it didn't happen??
Lastly, someone needs to advise the Paterno family to keep their mouths shut. All they are doing is inflaming the situation. Do you actually think he would tell his wife and kids the whole story when in fact he and the administration were covering it up? It is time to accept the situation and move forward. If you real Penn State and Paterno lovers really do care about the school and his legacy, then do the right thing and create a new legacy by turning your attention to the victims and support the efforts in preventing this kind of thing again.
I sit here and shake my head at the idiots in denial defending their deified football coach. Paterno was a pedophile enabler. Every good thing Paterno did is void. He enabled a pedophile to run rampant all in the name of football. He was a piece of shit.
What bothers me is that Paterno isn't here to defend himself. And my question is -- Wow, and this guy was paid $6.5 million. And people are assuming that just because Freeh says its so its the truth because he is a former director of the FBI. REally. And he knows everything that was done or said 15 years ago. I doubt it.
And if all of you are so intent on tearing down his statue, then why stop there. Remove all evidence of Joe Paterno form Penn State. Name and likeness. Remove all records of his existence. But remember don't stop there. All coaches, managers and such records who were associated with him during his tenure must be removed as well. Because everyone had to know something and if anyone knew something and never said anything then they are just as guilty. Right. Because if the janitors knew then a coach or teacher somewhere at Penn State had to know something. Because people talk -- right. And don't forget to return his money. Because if he didn't exist at Penn State then that donated money didn't exist either. And remember that's what you all want.
Its funny that Assistant Coach McCreary knew something and in the larger picture didn't do enough to stop it either and he's looked upon in a different light. Wow.
leave joe alone he is not here to defened his self.If you ever followed penn state you would know that in 1998 the ones who dropped the ball was DPW and the campus police . How about Tom Corbett why is his name left out of the report? You need to read the whole report not just part of it.
Joe Paterno is a disgrace to PSU. He covered up a sick situation and turned away from the issue.
Winning football games is not the bottom line of what life or PSU is about.
The man in the end left a terrible scar on his university and the statue and his name should be removed so that the school can move forward.
Take down the Joe Pa statue and the statue of football players (they are on in the same). Joe Pa was PSU football and unfortunately like in many institutions the football program runs the show. It is the money maker, the power source and often times overshadows the excellent work and programs of learning that it offers. In this case it was allowed to overshadow the sick, perverted nature of one man. One man's depraved actions were overlooked so other kids could play football.
So why stop at the statue, tear down the stadium. The 100,000 people there did not want this truth to be known out of fear of losing the glory and all that is HOLY of PSU football.
Unfortunately, many of us know the problem is bigger than PSU. The NCAA will throw a program under the bus for Tattoos and have always overlooked the problems these powerful programs create. They pick the petty stuff so they look efficient and will shy away from the things they will make them all look bad when they are uncovered. Otherwise how could many of the programs out there field a team when the have more athletes on probation (not academic) or parole than will actually graduate.
Although this is a very severe case and very disturbing/disgusting it highlights the lack of moral standards, or better yet the shear blindness to moral standards that comes with powerful sports programs.
Many will offer opinions stating we should not rush to judgement...... Many did not rush until this story came about, however even though I am not a betting person, I will take the bet that many of the stubborn, die hard, "non-rushers to judge" are HONESTLY not surprised by the finding but heartbroken that their worst fears are true.
When we hide and do not want to know or hear the truth we are no better than all those involved in this case and look where that got the innocent kids!!!!
Joe H - Good to hear that you know more about this case than the former director of the FBI could put together in an 8 months of investigation...tirelessly sorting through emails, paper records, and personal interviews with 400+ people.
It comes down to this...there are certain people, several who have posted below, who will never accept the mountains of evidence against Joe Pa as valid because they are unable to remove themselves from the situation emotionally. There are others, several who have posted below, who will say that all the overall good Joe Pa did in his lifetime outweighs the what he didn't do to help stop Sandusky and save his future victims. For the rest of us...the evidence against Joe Pa is just too great to deny, and none of the good he has done in his life is enough to forget that he buried his head in the sand for 14 years about what Sandusky may have been up to. When this is all said and done, though, I wouldn't want to look back and say, "Damn, I was defending somebody who looked the other way in cases of child molestation."
Joe H, you made a point to state the "fact" that McQueary never told Joe Paterno any specifics and just said they were horsing around. This is a fact to you because in your mind nothing Joe Paterno ever said is possible of being less than the full honest truth. So, assuming that you're right Joe Pa knew Sandusky was investigated in 1998 for inappropriate behavior with a minor in the shower, and now McQueary is saying he witnessed the same thing again. That's enough right there for any decent person to ensure that the matter is fully investigated by the authorities...regardless of whatever actions your superiors want to take. Also, it IS very ANNOYING when you put certain WORDS in CAPS to try to make your message sound MORE valid.
As a former Penn State Student 1969-1972 I want to say that I STILL support the INTEGRITY of Coach Joe Paterno.He was NOT told in a clear way as to what SANDUSKY DID TO THE BOY IN THE SHOWER.Coach Paterno was told by assistant coach McCreary that He heard Sandusky" horsing around" with the boy.Nothing of a sexual nature ever crossed the mind of Coach Paterno.Paterno being a family man was too descent of a man to think along the low level of what his former defensive coach may have been engaging in.I doudt seriously that Coach Joe Paterno had clear knowledge and clearly understood that Sandusky was engaging in overt homosexual activity with young boys on Penn State property and then try to cover up this kind of activity.Paterno was too decent of a man to tolerate such activity.Had he known what actually was happening right under his nose all of those years you can be sure he WOULD have put an IMMEDIATE stop to it.He would have punched Sandusky in the mouth had he trully known what Sandusky was doing to young impressionable boys.Coach Paterno was a Teacher first and a football coach second on his priority list.He would NEVER cover up homosexual activity or any other illicit behavior under his authority and control.I don't believe the FBI report implicating Coach Paterno.Investigators make misstakes and that IS what may have occured here.For Paterno to be guilty of covering up something so heinous and continue as a leading college football coach he would have to have had a Jekal and Hyde personality which he surely did NOT! The full story is NOT yet revealed something else is going on here. There seems to be an effort on the part of some for a RUSH to judgement and to SMEAR the reputation of one of America's greatest winningest college coaches. The real truth is yet to be revealed I believe.Joe H.
I always listened to the way people spoke about Joe Paterno and thought it was like the people who drank the Kool Aid with Jim Jones - - scary. I've thought for a long time that he'd been in that position for too long. Based on one of his recent statements, I thought it was presumptuous of him to think he could/should determine when/if he should resign. Long before today, I thought the statue should be torn down. Today, I think they should throw a rope around it and drag it through the streets. If his family/fans want it, they should put it up in their yards as a reminder of how easy it seems to be for people to look the other way when children (or anyone) are being hurt. Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Whatever "good" Joe Paterno did in his life was completely negated when he, in doing nothing, condoned the evil that was done to those children.
So, what is all the "good" that Joe did which justifies this statue? Please tell me? Give away money he gain through his ability as a coach and protect the University's reputation by any means necessary? Are you serious? It completely amazes me that people's feelings for SPORTS figures will trump basic morality.
You are the people being emotional and letting your feelings for a FOOTBALL COACH blind you to the facts that he failed morally. You are failing to put this into perspective out of some misplaced feeling of respect for his coaching ability.
Heck, OJ Simpson was ACQUITTED of double murder, but I bet you JoePA defenders were the first ones to think that he deserved to rot in jail for the rest of his life.
Paterno was a great coach, fine, even if he was the molester himself no one can take that away, but the fact remains he was a flawed human being; and his flaws allowed the destruction of innocent lives. Just deal with it.
The statue must be removed. For those of you that don't think so, you will always have your good memories, and I respect that. But, it has been badly tarnished, and it will forever be a symbolic reminder of what he failed to do, and the unspeakable crimes against young boys. What he and others did was horrible far beyond his coaching career, and who would want a statue for that. Also, I'm sure that it will be vandalized and looked upon by many as vile. In some ways, taking it down is the right thing to do for his memory.
I think even asking this question is a rush to judgement based on emotion. Take time to get the full story. I'm not convinced the Freeh report is that. Taking down the statue is a rash act that shouldn't be done just to satisfy emotions.
Wow.....JoePa did NOT commit these crimes! What news are you listening too? What about the good the man did and continues to do thru his legacy and the way he raised his family? I hope I am judged in the end, for my "Whole" contribution to life and the totality of people I affected! Save the statue and his contributions to Penn State!!!
WOW, so glad my mom decided to move out of PA before I was born. How can 28% want to honor someone who protected a child rapist. Greg, Anonymous and SUE , wow you are either pedophiles or idiots.
I was a joe pa fan, but after learning his involment was much more widespread then i thought. i cannot in good consience look the other way after hearing what the allegations were in 1998 and following the case and hearing from McQEARY in 2001 and it appears he wa sthe one who nix them from going to the Authorities you can blame the other three but how Joe Pa Could live with himself after everytime seeing Sandusky and not even having the Guts to confront him is beyound belief.
Leave Joe rest in peace. Leave the statue stand. Why is Mc Queary still there? He could have followed up on things and made sure he reported to the proper authorities!
so because Joe Pa did not use email it makes all the findings in this investigation and all the emails sent by Curley, Schultz, and Spanier irrelevant? you're a fool, Greg.
I want to see that disgraceful Joe Pa statue pulled down with a noose by an angry mob...Saddam statue in Baghdad style.
Greg Czar - There was enough reason before this report was released to teat that statue down...it should have never been put up. Let's stick to the facts and not even consider the mountains of circumstantial evidence against Joe; He knew Sandusky was accused of inappropriate behavior with children in 1998, he was informed in 2001 by McQueary of another alleged incident, he waited a couple days to tell his superiors about this incident so that he wouldn't ruin their weekend (no regard to the possibly raped child who could still be in the presence of Sandusky as McQueary is telling him this), and then later stated that he was shocked when learning about the allegations against Sandusky in 2011. He never showed any concern for the alleged victims in the incidents nor any concern for any future victims of Sandusky.
The problem with so many Penn State fans is that they glorified Joe Paterno to a god-like status and worship this man like some kind of deity, but this never works out because humans are flawed. When you worship a man you will inevitably be let down in the end. For the thousands of good things Joe Paterno did his integrity has been completely crushed due to his lack of responsible behavior in this scenario, and rightfully so.
Joe Pa has done so many positive things for PSU. Those who are voting to remove his statue are hypocritical ingrates who has all but forgotten that they were once rooting for him. Leave the statue alone. Joe Pa deserves to be remembered for the wonderful things he's done for PSU.
Do Not Rush to foolishness.
Those voting to tear his statue down are fools. The whole story has not been told.
Remember the emails are hearsay because Joe Pa did not use email.