Ask Dave and Luke: Should statue of Joe Paterno come down?

Should a statue of Joe Paterno on the Penn State campus come down? (AP Photo/file)

After a report by former FBI director Louis Freech concluded former Penn State Coach Joe Paterno helped cover up sex abuse allegations against assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, some want to see his image disappear, including the removal of a statue of Paterno on the Penn State campus.

In a discussion about whether the statue should come down on Tuesday’s show, Luke voiced his position saying:

Look you guys. Those who think the statue should be ripped down. Those who think it should be left up as a punishment to Joe Paterno’s legacy and everyone should look at it and spit at its feet or whatever. Can we please be realistic about Joe Paterno? He made some mistakes. He did not molest those kids.

Ross & Burbank listeners were not exactly in line with Luke.

Denise in Sammamish writes:

“He made a bad decision and some kids got hurt???” Are you kidding, Luke? Like Mark Emert or not, this scandal is unprecedented and as far as sanctions, everything SHOULD be on the table. College athletics mean too much to too many people and it’s time for college admins and fans to wake up. These boys were not just “hurt”, their lives were ruined and why? Because Joe Paterno and others chose to look the other way in order to not draw unfavorable attention to their mighty football program. It just rings hollow with many of us when people laud that JoePa did so much for so many. So what happens when the going gets tough and you should be sticking your neck out for these young boys? All of a sudden, you’re a coward, and you become selective on who you want to help for fear of your program. Your comments this morning, Luke, are disappointing.

Signed, a transplanted Iowa Hawkeye who bleeds Big Ten still and a former admirer of JoePa

Corinne in Woodinville writes:

If someone knowingly and willingly allows a crime to happen, then it is as if they did the crime themselves. You are letting your love of sports (yes) get in the way of what it means to do the right thing. Joe did not do “one little mistake”, he had a major lapse in judgment that forever ruined many kids lives and yes, sorry, it should ruin his as well.

Luke: I think you make a good point Corinne. The only thing I would differ from you on is that you said, ‘willingly allows a crime to happen.’ I’m sure that in Joe Paterno’s brain, and he was wrong, this was the last that Jerry Sandusky would do something like this, because he thought, well he’s been caught, he’s been called out, it won’t continue. I think if somebody was able to make it clear to Joe Paterno that this was going to continue on, I bet you he would have acted differently. That’s not an excuse, but I think it’s different than saying basically, yeah no problem just carry on. I don’t think that’s what he was doing.

Todd in Shoreline writes:

As the person in ultimate authority at Penn State, it was Joe Paterno’s responsibility to report this crime and protect the victim(s). To not do so caused additional child rape and makes him an accessory to the crime. Joe knowingly covered up the crime, and protected the criminal leaving the victim(s) to suffer in silence. Scrub his memory away!

Luke: People are 100 percent opposed to what I said about this.

Dave: I’m not entirely against what you said. I don’t think that their records should be scrubbed of any records of Joe Paterno or his previous accomplishments. I think if they post date that statue to be the pre-1998 Joe Paterno, it accurately reflects who he was before the scandal tarnished his reputation.

Luke: Well you my friend, like me, are apparently out of step with our magic messagers.

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