Removing Paterno's statue showed the right priority
Yael T. AbouhalkahSunday’s removal of Joe Paterno’s statue outside the Penn State football stadium shows the university finally has a sense of the right priorities.
They need to downplay the legend of Paterno, who was an excellent football coach but through his inactions helped allow a monster in Jerry Sandusky continue to sexually abuse young boys.
The university’s leaders had kowtowed to Paterno and the football team for decades, something the Freeh report indicated with its denunciation of not just Paterno but other key college leaders at Penn State.
All played a role in allowing Sandusky’s actions to occur.
Removing the statue would have been unthinkable before the Sandusky revelations came out last year and even unlikely until the Freeh report was released.
But its findings that Paterno knew about the 1998 allegations involving Sandusky, and that he did not act strongly enough to keep Sandusky away from young men after the 2001 shower incident, pressured Penn State officials into correctly removing the statue.
It’s a reminder of more glorious times for the school and for Paterno, times that weren’t so glorious for the young men assaulted by Sandusky with the complicity of Paterno and other university leaders.
Penn State’s decision also should be a warning to other schools - including the universities of Kansas and Missouri in this area - that too often glorify the head football and basketball coaches, especially, who get millions of dollars for leading excessively funded sports programs.
The next worry for Penn State: It might be dealing with NCAA punishment - scheduled to be handed down Monday, and which might include the so-called death penalty of shutting down the football program for a year or two.
George Hunsucker
Northland
11 months agoGive it a rest YT… The man is dead…
He did help the university raise millions of dollars as evidenced with at least one building named after him, with no present plans to rename…
Your crusade against big-time college sports is noted—now, write about race or someother “progressssssssssssssssive” bugaboo…
Maybe write about the big 0’s job performance—that would be novel.
Kent Mueller
11 months agoGeorge….I’m just curious. Why the progresssssssssive stuff all the time? I’m sorry, and as you know I’m a conservative, but that does get quite tiring. Whats the point?
George Hunsucker
Northland
11 months agoYou gripe if I call them libs, you gripe if I call them “progressssssssssssssives”. What do I call them that’s acceptable to you Kent, non-conservative, non-libetarian, non-what?
These people are ruining our country and I refuse to just be mild about my utter disdain for their policies of the last 60 years which are turning Americans into Europeans which we are seeing is a road to disaster. You are more civil then I am, maybe, but I don’t think you have the passion I do toward wanting to save America.
We have one last chance which is the upcoming election. If we do not defeat the person who has saddled us with 5 TRILLION in new debt and 0’care, then we might as well get ready to be part of a failing Europe because we will have major inflation, the currency will be further debased and our kids and grandkids will lead a much different life then we were blessed to live IMO…
So, that’s why!
George Hunsucker
Northland
11 months agoStill no answer from you Kent?
Kent Mueller
10 months, 4 weeks agoGeorge, my point, if you haven’t gotten it, isn’t about civility for civilty’s sake. I don’t like what Obama and the Democrats are doing at all. I want to be a part of a majority that makes them go away. But, the county is divided pretty evenly now, as far as those who vote. My experience is that your approach doesn’t attract anyone to consider your good points. You have good points, but most who would consider them stop listening when you go on your rants. You certainly aren’t going to hurt the feelings of the Editorial Board, no matter how many s’s you put into progressives. Don’t get me wrong, George. You make many good points. You and I would agree on quite a bit. I just know that if the right would tone it down and not turn people off then many more would continue to listen to us and then understand that conservatism makes a lot of sense. I think you would agree that if someone listens to the tenants of conservatism with an open mind then we have a really good shot at winning that person over. But we never get that chance is they stop listening when they see or hear a rant first. Make sense?