Pennsylvania Representative Wants Penn State to Reveal Location of Joe Paterno Statue

Rep. Aaron Bernstine introduces a bill amendment requiring Penn State to disclose the statue's location to receive state funding.

A Pennsylvania state representative wants Penn State University to disclose the location and condition of the Joe Paterno statue as a condition of receiving state funding.

Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Butler/Beaver/Lawrence) introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 1283 that would require Penn State to report the Paterno statue's location and storage method to the House and Senate Education committees. The report, which the university would have to make public on its website, would be required for Penn State to receive state appropriation, according to the amendment.

Senate Bill 1283 would provide funding for Pennsylvania's state-related universities, including Penn State, for the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins July 1. According to the bill, Penn State is scheduled to receive $242 million for general support and more than $26 million for the affiliated Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Penn State installed the 7-foot, 900-pound bronze statue of Paterno outside Beaver Stadium in 2001. The university removed it in 2012 after the Freeh Report suggested that Paterno and other former Penn State officials covered up allegations of child sexual abuse against Jerry Sandusky.

At the time, then-Penn State president Rodney Erickson said that "the statue of Joe Paterno outside Beaver Stadium has become a lightning rod of controversy and national debate..."

"The statue symbolized Coach Paterno's many outstanding contributions to Penn State on and off the gridiron," Bernstine said in a statement. "His legacy should remain alive for people to view and reflect. Removing the statue does not serve the victims of Sandusky's horrible crimes. The university is sending a mixed message by treating Paterno as a hero at the campus library where a plaque is displayed due to the millions of dollars he donated, but a villain at the stadium where he coached the Nittany Lions to two national collegiate championships and five undefeated seasons."

Bernstine also wrote a letter to Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi asking the university to disclose the statue's location.

ESPN recently aired a documentary called "The Paterno Legacy" that examined Penn State's current view of Paterno, who died in 2012. In a statement to ESPN, Penn State said, "Regarding Coach Paterno, there are no plans for additional honors or a reinstallation of the statue."

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