Penn State has decided to remove Joe Paterno’s statue from Beaver Stadium this weekend, it was reported today.
The iconic statue, showing Paterno leading players out of the tunnel, will be taken down in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal and subsequent investigative report conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh and was released last week, according to the NFL Network’s Kim Jones.
“Am told that Penn State plans to take down the Paterno Statue this weekend,” Jones posted to her Twitter account.
Other reports surfaced Friday morning, with ESPN’s Bonnie Bernstein tweeted that the Penn State Board of Trustees made the decision via conference call on Thursday night.
Penn State spokesperson David LaTorre told The Post that he was not aware of any decision being made at this time.
Penn State trustee members have denied that a vote ever took place.
“We did no such thing,” board member Ryan McCombie said to Statecollege.com.
Fellow board member Anthony Lubrano also denied that a vote took place.
According to the Associated Press, Penn State’s president Rodney Erickson is looking for input from trustees, alumni and others regarding the fate of the statue. A decision from Erickson is expected next week.
The statue’s alleged removal comes after the statue’s creator, 65-year-old Angelo Di Maria, called for the decision to be put on hold.
“I think we should all wait on it. Put a cover on it,” Di Maria said. “Let’s see how everyone feels in six months … or a year.”
The decision over whether or not to remove the statue of Paterno had sparked intense debate over the past week. A plane was spotted flying over the State College, Pa. campus with a banner reading “Take down the statue or we will.”
Paterno’s name had already been removed from the area where students camp out for tickets before football games. The name of the area was changed from “Paternoville” to “Nittanyville” earlier this week.
In Freeh’s report, Paterno, among many other Penn State officials, was accused of hiding “critical facts relating to Sandusky’s child abuse from the authorities, the board of trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large.”
Paterno’s family has said it will fund its own investigation into the scandal.