Penn State students support Joe Paterno during the game against the Temple Owls.
Advertisement
Paterno, as most know, came under fire in late-2011 for having knowledge of Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of young boys but not acting on that information while he had the chance to.
In a classless act at Beaver Stadium on Saturday, the Temple faithful turned their backs to the field in an attempt to show their displeasure for Joe Paterno.
Other fans had a decidedly different reaction, including the Temple contingent in attendance.
Nittany Lions fans gave a standing ovation after the first of the university’s three videos honoring Paterno, although some Temple fans took issue and turned their backs in protest. While the Owls will create some problems for the Nittany Lions, Penn State should have no trouble stopping that offense. Penn State was pretty much in control of its 34-27 victory over Temple throughout.
Moving forward has proven a hard challenge for Penn State, requiring leaders to balance distancing the university from the scandal while juggling the wishes of Paterno’s ardent supporters who believe he was a scapegoat.
It also drew many former players back to campus.
Penn State will commemorate the 50th anniversary of Paterno’s coaching debut in addition to his commitment to student-athletes and academics during the Temple game on Saturday.
He said his opinion of Paterno, who coached at Penn State for 46 years, remains unchanged.
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Penn State is the favorite in this game.
But Paterno’s career ended with a phone call from the board of trustees who fired him amid the Sandusky scandal.
“I believe it is incredibly insensitive and unfortunately evident that they still have learned nothing about changing the culture on their campus”, Jennifer Storm, who serves as a victim advocate for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, said in a statement to NBC News.
Barkley took the ball from McSorley and raced through a hole in the defense before cutting left, with an oncoming defender in his way it was a shift of the hips and a foot planted firmly into the ground that launched Barkley in yet another direction.
Advertisement
“I think they handled it wrong and I think they got bad advice from the lawyers and the lawyers got it wrong and they handled it wrong”, Harris said. One woman wiped a tear from her eye as she placed a brick at the site, about two hours before kickoff.
