NEW: Brown Takes Paterno’s Name Off Award - For Now
Friday, July 13, 2012
A day after a report revealed that Joe Paterno showed "total disregard for the safety and welfare" of children, Brown University says it is still deciding whether it plans to remove the former Penn State coach's name from an athletic award award presented in his honor.
Paterno, who died earlier this year, graduated from the school in 1950.
In a statement to GoLocalProv, the school asknowledged that it removed Paterno's name from the award given last year, but hasn't yet decided on its future.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Since 1991, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education has presented an award to this year's outstanding male freshman athlete. In 1993 that award was renamed to honor Brown alumnus Joe Paterno '50. In the spring of 2012, the Department of Athletics and Physical Education presented the award as it was originally created, honoring the year's outstanding male freshman athlete but without Joe Paterno's name attached. Now that the Freeh report has been released, the University will make a decision about the naming of the award in future years," the university said.
The Freeh Report, released documents that detailed incidents in which Paterno had clear knowledge of the sexual abuse crimes being committed by his assistant coach of 30 years, Jerry Sandusky.
Brown University released a statement in November when the scandal unfolded saying they were "reviewing the matter to consider how best to address." At the time, Paterno's knowledge of the role in the sexual abuse crimes of assistant Sandusky were still unclear.
While the university has yet to comment directly on whether Paterno's name will be removed from the award, a Brown football great spoke out against Paterno yesterday.
"I could not stand up for Joe Paterno in this situation at all. There's no excuse in any situation where children are being abused," said Brown football alum ('99) and Board Member of Brown Hall of Fame Mike Wall.
Paterno is also a 1977 inductee in the Brown Hall of Fame which may also come under review. "I really think everything's on the table now in terms of his legacy at Brown," Wall said.
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