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Franco Harris: ‘They should put Joe Paterno’s statue back up’

By David Rouben

Nov 15, 2014; University Park, PA, USA; Memorabilia lays at the site of the former Joe Paterno statue prior to the game between the Temple Owls and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O
Nov 15, 2014; University Park, PA, USA; Memorabilia lays at the site of the former Joe Paterno statue prior to the game between the Temple Owls and the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O /
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Hall of Fame back, and Penn State alum, Franco Harris is unhappy with the way the school has treated Joe Paterno and believes an apology is in order.

Even though Joe Paterno’s statue was removed from Penn State’s ground four years ago, many people still pay tribute to where it once was. Amidst all of the controversy surrounding him and Jerry Sandusky, it’s easy to forget Paterno’s sterling head coach resume.

In 61 years, he has 409 career wins, which includes two national championships, and is the winningest coach in FBS history. But instead, almost everyone chooses to remember his dismissal from Penn State in 2011.

One person who that doesn’t bode well with is Franco Harris. Harris attended Penn State from 1969-71, then went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Harris will forever be known for The Immaculate Reception, he valued his time at Penn State and believes the way they’re treating their former coach is wrong.

On Friday night, he gave an interview to SportsCenter, and had this to say about Paterno’s statue, as well as the players’ wall that was removed:

"I think an apology is in order. They should put Joe’s statue back up and they should put our players’ wall back up. By taking down the wall, they even put blame on the players. All this blame is going to all these places it shouldn’t be."

Despite Penn State’s best efforts to remove Paterno from the schools’ collective memory, hundreds of people showed up for a commemoration of him. This event was not sanctioned by the school. And before fans go to see Penn State take on Temple, they have left plenty of items where Paterno’s statue used to belong:


The game itself will have a video tribute to JoePa, but Franco Harris and many others feel as though it’s too little too late on the school’s part.

The timing of this is certainly interesting. A day after Rice’s band mocked the Baylor sexual assault scandal while Art Briles was in attendance, plenty of Penn State fans are attempting to shut out Joe Paterno’s involvement in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. While it’s certainly worth remembering his achievements as a head coach, the scandal was a big part of Paterno’s life, and it would be wrong to shut it out.

More fansided.com: 30 Best College Football Coaches of All-Time

While everyone is entitled to their own opinion of Joe Paterno, what remains important is to keep the conversation open.

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