TRANSFERRED: Workers yesterday haul off the 7-foot statue (right) of Joe Paterno from in front of Penn State’s Beaver Stadium. (AP)
Penn State toppled Joe Paterno’s iconic statue yesterday, as Happy Valley braced for “harsh” and “unprecedented” penalties reportedly coming down against the disgraced football program.
The NCAA, governing body of college sports, said it would announce “corrective and punitive measures” today in the wake of Jerry Sandusky’s child-sex revelations — considered the worst scandal in college sports history.
It’s been exactly one month and a day since jurors found Sandusky, once the Nittany Lions’ beloved defensive coordinator, guilty on 45 of 48 charges for sick acts against boys.
And it’s been nearly two weeks since a school-sponsored probe found that top Penn State officials — including Paterno — conspired for years to keep the abuse quiet.
As the statue was taken down for removal to a “secure location,” more than 100 onlookers protested, chanting, “We are Penn State!”