Former Penn State football players want Joe Paterno statue back

200 former Penn State football players want Joe Paterno’s statue returned to Happy Valley.

Former Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno had his bronze statue removed from outside Beaver Stadium in 2012 following the fallout from the Joe Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

The Sandusky sex scandal forever changed Penn State and the way people view the winningest head football coach in the FBS. Die-hard Penn State fans and former players believed the removal of Paterno’s statue was far too harsh of a punishment and four years later 200 of his former players have signed a letter asking for a formal apology and the return of the Paterno statue.

The letter was written by former punter and linebacker Brian Masella and he is still waiting for a response from Penn State.

“We have been told during the last four-plus years that the board and administration are waiting for the appropriate time to repair the damage they created. Now is the appropriate time. Enough is enough,” Masella wrote. “Our program has always been one of integrity, honesty, and respect. Under Coach Paterno, we strove for academic excellence and made an ongoing commitment to becoming better men. We deserve to have that respect reciprocated by Penn State and its leadership.”

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Paterno is almost a religious figurehead among the Penn State faithful, so I can understand their desire to have his name and legacy restored at Happy Valley. I think asking for an apology and the resurrection of his statue may be falling on deaf ears, however, as the current Penn State administration continues to move forward into a new era of Penn State football while simultaneously severing all ties to the past.