Penn State may not be ready to take the Joe Paterno statue down (and there are certainly two very passionate camps, one for and one against doing so) but Paterno’s alma mater, Brown University has already made a statement on Paterno’s complicity to child rape by taking his name off an award and coaching position.
They’re also contemplating the removal of Paterno from the school’s hall of fame.
From the New York Times:
“In light of the outcome of the Sandusky trial and the findings of the Freeh Report, the university has been reviewing these tributes to take appropriate action,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday, referring to the report of the investigation by the former F.B.I. director Louis J. Freeh that was released last week.
The Joe Paterno Outstanding Male Freshman Athlete Award had been given annually by the university since 1993. This year’s award was given without Paterno’s name as the university considered what permanent action it should take. It has now stripped his name from the award.
The former tennis player Eric Thomas won the award in 2004. He called the move surprising, but said, “you could sort of see it coming, with the way people have wanted to disassociate themselves with the Paterno name.”
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Fox Sports, MSN, Walter Football and Yardbarker
A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too