Joe Paterno Statue: Bobby Bowden Right in Saying Statue Should Be Removed

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.

Former Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden recently said, via the Los Angeles Times:

"

"Should his statue be removed? In my opinion, yes."

"Now the reason is, Penn State's job now is to try to forget this thing. But every time somebody walks by and sees that statue, they're not going to remember the 80 good years, they're going to remember this thing with Sandusky."

"Just think, every time you go to a ballgame at Penn State and they shine a camera on that statue, that's going to be brought up again."

"

Bowden is absolutely right. It benefits everyone, Penn State included, for Paterno's statue to be brought down. It goes far beyond what you think Paterno's final standing at the university is—it's about protecting the victims, their families and ultimately Penn State.

Now, there are some who will say the statue should remain, reminding everyone of what happened for so many years at Penn State, a beacon condemning the university for eternity. But that doesn't do anyone any good.

Beyond the hierarchy that turned a blind eye to Sandusky's heinous acts, there are plenty of prestigious people who have come from Penn State, and many who feel betrayed by their own university. These people don't deserve to suffer because of the acts of a few.

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.

Removing Paterno's statue has less to do with Paterno and more to do with the big picture. It does more harm than good. It should be erased from the Penn State grounds. Then, with a clean slate, hopefully Penn State can move on and make sure something like this never happens again.