THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JULY 23, 2012
PAGE 23
SCANDAL
Paterno statue moved, NCAA to act
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The NCAA announced Sunday that it will issue sanctions against Penn State in the wake of a scathing report that found that top university officials buried child sex abuse allegations against a now-convicted retired assistant and led to the tearing down of the famed statue of once-sainted coach Joe Paterno.
Shortly after Paterno's statue was removed Sunday, six months to the day after he died, the NCAA came forward to say that it will levy "corrective and punitive measures" against the school. The sanctions will be spelled out Monday, the NCAA said without disclosing further details.
NCAA President Mark Emmert hasn't ruled out the possibility of shutting down the Penn State football program in the wake of the scandal, saying he had "never seen anything as egregious."
The Paterno family issued a statement saying the statue's removal "does not serve the victims of Jerry Sandusky's horrible crimes or help heal the Penn State community."
"We believe the only way to help the victims is to uncover the full truth," said the family, which vowed its own investigation following the release of an investigative report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that found that Paterno and three other top Penn State administrators concealed sex abuse claims against Sandusky.
The family called the report "the equivalent of an indictment — a charging document written by a prosecutor — and an incomplete and unofficial one at that."
The bronze statue, weighing more than 900 pounds, was built in 2001 in honor of Paterno's record-setting 324th Division I coaching victory and his "contributions to the university." Students chanted, "We are Penn State" as the statue came down.
Penn State President Rod Erickson said he decided to have the statue removed and put into storage because it "has become a source of division and an obstacle to healing."
"I believe that, were it to remain, the statue will be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been the victims of child abuse," Erickson said in a statement.
In Washington, a White House press secretary said President Barack Obama believed "it was the right decision."
By many of those watching the statue's removal stared in disbelief and at least one woman wept, while others expressed anger at the decision.
"I think it was an act of cowardice on the part of the university," said Mary Trometter, of Williamsport, who wore a shirt bearing Paterno's image. She said she felt betrayed by university officials, saying they promised openness but said nothing about the decision until just before the removal work began.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
People visit the Joe Paterno statue early Sunday, July 22. in State College, Pa. The famed statue of Paterno was taken down from outside the Penn State football stadium Sunday morning, eliminating a key piece of the iconography surrounding the Sandusky scandal.
GOLF
Scott blows big lead. Els wins British Open
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England Ernie Els kept feeling that something special could happen at the British Open, and it did.
But only after a collapse by Adam Scott that no one imagined.
Four shots ahead with four holes to play after eight straight holes with nothing worse than par - Scott begyed them all and had to fight back tears on the 18th green Sunday as the magnitude of his meltdown began to sink in.
Els, who started the final round six shots behind, finished off a flawless back nine with a 15-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 68 that looked as if it would do little more than lock up another runner-up finish at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Instead, he wound up with his second British Open — the other one was 10 years ago at Muirfield — and fourth major championship at a stage in his career when it seemed as though his best golf was behind him.
The celebration was muted, unlike
his other three majors.
"I'm a little numb at the moment," said Els, who was on the practice green behind the clubhouse when he won. "First of all, I feel for Adam Scott. He's a great friend of mind. Obviously, we both wanted to win very badly. But you know, that's the nature of the beast. That's why we're out here. You win, you lose.
The wind finally arrived off the Irish Sea and ushered in pure chaos — a mental blunder by Tiger Woods that led to triple bogey on the sixth hole, a lost ball by Brandt Snedeker that took him out of contention and a topped shot that made former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell look like an amateur.
"It was my time for some reason."
Nothing was more stunning than what happened to Scott.
"I had it in my hands with four to go," Scott said. "I managed to hit a poor shot on each of the closing four holes. Look, I played so beautifully for most of the week. I shouldn't let this bring me down."
highpointe@sunflower.com