Big Ten removes Joe Paterno’s name from its championship trophy

A. Isaac Senior Editor

Joe Paterno window 135x95 Big Ten removes Joe Paternos name from its championship trophy

The legend of Joe Paterno may live on in the hearts and minds of Penn State faithful, but as far as the Big Ten conference is concerned, he’s persona non grata. Commissioner Jim Delany officially announced Monday that the 84-year old coach’s name will no longer appear on the championship trophy presented in Indianapolis next month.

The reasons? Well, they’re fairly obvious now but Delany did provide some details in this statement.

“We believe that it would be inappropriate to keep Joe Paterno’s name on the trophy at this time,” Delany said. “The trophy and its namesake are intended to be celebratory and aspirational, not controversial. We believe that it’s important to keep the focus on the players and the teams that will be competing in the inaugural championship game.”

At this point, nobody really feels sorry for Paterno. In fact, having spent a majority of Saturday with people who a) don’t care about sports b) don’t care about college football, the growing sentiment seems to be one of hatred for the old man. Several people I conversed with thought Paterno was legally responsible as both an educator, administrator and above all, a human being.

Can’t say I was entirely shocked by their feelings but at the very least, it gave me perspective. There are many, many people out there who simply don’t live their lives in the sports bubble I do. And while most of us in media have been harsh of Paterno, we felt some compassion because of what he’s done for the university and the community as a whole.

Take away that component, however, and what are you really left with? A man who protected a sexual predator for the better part of a decade. And that my friends is a sad, sad truth.

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