Taking Down Paterno's Statue

In a statement released early Sunday morning, Penn State President Rodney Erickson explained his decision to take down the Joe Paterno statue that stands outside PSU's Beaver Stadium.

The crux of the statement and Erickson's rationale:

"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 selected a few photos that perfectly capture the dismantling of the statuary and the shameful end of the Paterno era.

The original statue as it was built.
(Photo: AP)

Workers erecting a temporary barricade.
(Photo: Craig Houtz / Reuters)

Going...
(Photo: Craig Houtz / Reuters)

Going...
(Photo: Craig Houtz / Reuters)

Gone.
(Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)

Turn of Phrase - Louis Freeh's Report and the Paterno Family Statement

Louis Freeh

"In order to avoid the consequences of bad publicity, the most powerful leaders at the university -- Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley -- repeatedly concealed critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse."

- From Louis Freeh's damning investigative report on Penn State's handling of Jerry Sandusky sex abuse allegations as far back as 1998.

Freeh's investigation was extremely comprehensive. In their search for the truth, Freeh and his team interviewed more than 400 witnesses and reviewed 3 million documents. 

Upon the release of Freeh's 267-page report, the family of Joe Paterno released a statement of their own. The following text is a portion of that statement.

"It can be argued that Joe Paterno should have gone further. He should have pushed his superiors to see that they were doing their jobs. We accept this criticism. 

At the same time, Joe Paterno and everyone else knew that Sandusky had been repeatedly investigated by authorities who approved his multiple adoptions and foster children. Joe Paterno mistakenly believed that investigators, law enforcement officials, University leaders and others would properly and fully investigate any issue and proceed as the facts dictated.

This didn't happen and everyone shares the responsibility."