Why was Joe Paterno statue taken down?

Joseph Vincent Paterno, sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach.

Joe Paterno was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions from 1966 to 2011 and with 409 victories, he is the most victorious coach in NCAA FBS history.

Joe Paterno coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games, and in 2007 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

Joe Paterno’s coaching career ended abruptly in 2011, shortly before his death, when the Penn State Board of Trustees terminated his contract in response to a child sex abuse scandal involving Paterno’s former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.

An investigation conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh reported that Joe Paterno concealed information relating to Sandusky’s abuse of a young boy.

Why was Joe Paterno statue taken down?

The statue of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno outside of Beaver Stadium was taken down in 2012 in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal.

A critique of the Freeh report, commissioned by the Joe Paterno family, disputed Paterno’s involvement in the alleged cover-up.

In 2012, the NCAA vacated all of Penn State’s wins from 1998 through 2011 as part of its punishment.

The State Senator Jake Corman used the Freeh report as a basis to sue the NCAA, asserting that both Freeh and the NCAA had collaborated and failed to follow due process.

Jake Corman released emails showing “regular and substantive” contact between NCAA officials and Freeh’s investigators, suggesting that Freeh’s conclusions were orchestrated.

In a 2015 legal settlement with Penn State, the NCAA reversed its decision and restored all 111 wins to Paterno’s record.