Early Sunday morning Penn State president Rodney Ericksonannounced that the university was taking down the statue of Joe Paterno that stood outside Beaver Stadium on the Penn State campus. Construction began nearly immediately. First police formed a barricade around the statue, then a blue tarpaulin was erected behind which heavy machinery could be seen working to remove the statue. By 8:20 a.m. the statue had been removed and taken into the stadium.
The statue, with the inscription "Educator, Coach, Humanitarian," had become a point of controversy since a child sex abuse scandal was uncovered involving former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. In a report issued by former FBI director Louis Freeh earlier this month, Paterno and other members of the university's administration were found to have covered up Sandusky's actions.
[via Penn State Live, @sganim, and @MinkNate]
