Debate over the correct fate for Penn State’s bronze tribute to late football coach Joe Paterno has come to an end, CNN reports. Joe Paterno was a revered figure during his long tenure at the school, but his legacy has been marred by a high profile sexual abuse case involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Jerry Sandusky has been found guilty on 45 accounts of sexually abusing children, and a subsequent inquiry into the school’s handling of the case found that Joe Paterno was among  a group of negligent officials with knowledge of the abuse.Â
In a column for sports blog Bleacher Report, Ryan Rudnansky makes a case for the statue’s removal:
“You can make the argument that Joe Paterno’s statue deserves to stand outside the Penn State football stadium based on the good Paterno did in his 61 years at the university.
But the fact remains: Every time someone sees that statue now, it will always bring up one memory, the Jerry Sandusky case, and Paterno’s inability to alert authorities that a pedophile was on campus for years …
The fact is, Penn State was not highly regarded just because of Paterno for so many years—it was highly regarded because of some of the brilliant teachers, students and community members within the university.”
Although there were reports of students holding vigil by the statue, the majority of writers and commenters were of the mindset Rudnansky lays out.Â
The AP reports this morning that University President Rod Erickson has made his choice.
“Workers lifted the 7-foot-tall statue off its base and used a forklift to move it into Beaver Stadium as the 100 to 150 students watching chanted, ‘We are Penn State.'”
The 900 pound statue will go to storage.Â