STATE COLLEGE, PA — A group of over 200 Penn State football players sent a letter to University President Eric Barron and members of the Board of Trustees, asking the school to return the statue of legendary football coach Joe Paterno outside Beaver Stadium and to issue an apology to Paterno’s widow, Sue Paterno.
The statue was removed in July of 2012 after longtime Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky was convicted of numerous counts related to sexual abuse of boys over a 15-year period.
Paterno was dismissed as coach in November of 2011, amid the shock of the Sandusky allegations. He died in January of 2012, just two months later, of complications due to lung cancer.
Paterno was told by graduate assistant Mike McQueary of an incident in 2001 between Sandusky and a young boy in a shower at Penn State’s football facility. Paterno reported the incident to his superior, Athletic Director Tim Curley.
Paterno and his family maintain that he did not know of other reports of abuse involving Sandusky. Reports to the contrary have come out since then, all refuted by Paterno supporters.
The letter reads, “Nearly five years after the firestorm, they still have not defended us or corrected the false narrative! Our legacy and our university deserve better!”
