Football fans were left stunned after Penn State unveiled a new experience named after an accomplished and controversial coach.
On Monday, the school announced that the ‘Paterno Family Football Experience Room’ has opened at Beaver Stadium, home of the Nittany Lions football program.
In a press release, the school says the room ‘brings together historic artifacts, interactive displays and multimedia storytelling to recognize the student-athletes, coaches, staff, teams and traditions that have shaped the program.’
Among the artifacts are the ‘original office desk and workspace’ of former Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno – a coach who served six decades in Happy Valley.
There are also trophies, interactive displays and other exhibits highlighting the success and traditions of the school in the sport.
But the decision to honor Paterno comes as a surprise to many outside the university’s community considering the coach’s role in one of the worst child sex abuse scandals in collegiate athletics involving longtime Nittany Lions assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Football fans are reacting to a new Penn State tribute to controversial coach Joe Paterno
The school announced the opening of the ‘Paterno Family Football Experience Room’
Paterno’s legacy has been debated since the sentencing of former assistant Jerry Sandusky
Sandusky was found guilty of 45 counts of child sexual abuse that took place for over a decade.
In 2012, he was sentenced to the minimum possible sentence for his crimes under Pennsylvania state law: 60 years in prison.
While Paterno himself was not charged with any crimes, he was fired in November 2011 due to the growing outrage over the situation.
A subsequent investigation by former FBI director Louis Freeh accused Paterno and three others of concealing Sandusky’s actions to protect the publicity around the team.
The exact conclusions and actions of Paterno continue to be contested and hotly debated since the Freeh Report was released.
In the years since Paterno’s firing and his death less than three months later in 2012, his legacy has been a touchy subject. A statue of Paterno was taken down in July 2012 and has not been seen since.
Coaches who arrived after Paterno’s firing – including Bill O’Brien and James Franklin – tended to avoid invoking Paterno and his family. But new coach Matt Campbell has been more open and has even gone so far as to reportedly put a photo of the coach on his desk.
With all of this in mind, fans found the decision to unveil a new section of the stadium named after Paterno as a surprise and reacted as such on social media.
Sandusky was sentenced to 60 years in prison after being found guilty of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and will not be eligible for parole until 2042, when he will be 98 years old
Paterno was accused in a report of engaging in a cover-up of Sandusky’s actions
‘This was an incredibly dumb decision,’ one account on X, which appears to belong to a Penn State alum, posted.
Another post read, ‘there HAS to be a better name for this.’ A similar response read, ‘The WHO Family Football Experience??????’
‘I have no knowledge on Joe Paterno other than the obvious but I can’t imagine being a dad and saying I took my son to the Joe Paterno family fun center. Like what are we doing,’ read another comment on X.
One user posted, ‘[James] Franklin deserves more credit for not tolerating this bulls***.’
