Hell, Joe, You Must Go!

I am similarly baffled by the people who are outraged by the removal of Joe Paterno's statue from its place of prominence on the PSU campus.

I am sure that this is not the last removal of his likeness or his name from something  to which it was intended to lend a certain credibility and superstar quality shininess to.

But alas - Happy Valley reminds us all of that scene in The Ten Commandments when Pharaoh has Moses' name stricken from every tablet, column, blah, blah blah. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Scholarships, trophies, child care centers - all changing names. Nike, the students of the former Paternoville, countless other groups, all disavowing him.

And why the hell not?

I am not insensitive. I completely appreciate his family's pain and conflict and outrage. They knew the man, not just the coach and the legend. And they have reaped the rewards of his success, suffered the sacrifices of his devotion to the game, and have lived in the warmth of his glow for decades.

But please, let's not say that we should just focus on the good that the man did - and I am not disputing that he did many, many a good deed.

Let's not say the the Freeh report is just a bunch of speculation, though that would be convenient and easier to believe.

Whatever the factoids and nuances and conclusions of the Freeh report may be - and whether Joe Paterno is crucified in the court of public opinion only or is found legally culpable (and we may never know for sure as he has inconveniently died) the plain and simple truth is that his name has been sullied. Really, and truly, and heinously, and irretrievably sullied. And no one wants their thing - their trophy, track shoe, day care, sunglasses - associated with that image.

And if there is the slightest chance that the image of Joe Pa's victorious pointing finger signifying the number one spot brings someone pain and suffering or horrific images or memories, it is right to tear the statue down. (I am sure there are not hospital wings or libraries or stadiums in Europe bearing Hitler's image because he gave them a little cashola.)

In some way, so many of us believe that whatever the complicated political landscape or delicate PR dilemma at the time, on some level, Joe Pa failed a bunch of defenseless kids.  He knew something about a heinous crime against a child, and in his own sandbox, and the most powerful, influential man in town did nothing of substance to stop it. Made no demands. Drew no lines in the sand. Threw up no ultimatums.

Joe Paterno may have once been the most powerful man in a very prestigious place. But he made at least one desperate child feel even more powerless when he could have rescued him. Shame on him.

Men like that don't get to be remembered for their greatness.