Forever looking spry, and pointing toward the sky with his jacket flown open and tie whipped around as if it was hit by the wind of another brisk Penn State football Saturday, Paterno is still there. Paterno's statue stands outside the stadium even as his reputation has swiftly fallen following a scathing special investigative report that found he helped cover up child sex abuse allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Not long after a plane flew over campus this week with a banner that read: "Take the statue down or we will," Penn State students quickly rallied with a vigil to protect it from vandals. Not even the sculptor of the life-sized statue knows, for sure, how to feel about his creation that has turned into a 9,000-pound Rorschach test for all who step foot on campus. Di Maria snapped sideline photos and decided on the iconic shot of Paterno running out of the tunnel, his right index finger extended. [...] the statue has morphed from a fan-friendly gathering spot to a shameful bronze symbol of all that is wrong with idolizing football coaches. Critics have called for the sculpture to be taken down after the Freeh report concluded that Paterno was aware of the 1998 allegations against Sandusky ? in contrast to his grand jury testimony and an interview given after his firing ? and that he was involved in the decision to hide a 2001 incident from authorities. ? The halo that had floated above Paterno's head in a State College mural was also removed by the artist, who added a blue ribbon in support of child abuse awareness. The statue, everything that's associated with them in a positive way, do we have to pay attention to them also?
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