An empty triumph

                             It is only a matter of time before the iconic Joe Paterno statue, removed in disgrace in 2012, will return to its prominent spot outside Beaver Stadium in State College.
                            When it is returned, what will it mean?
                            It means the triumph of a campaign to bully Penn State's Board of Trustees to return the statue and denounce the University's report that  disclosed seamy details about why it sacked the late, legendary football coach halfway through the 2011 season.
                            The campaign to rehabilitate Paterno has been underway ever since Paterno's assistant, Jerry Sandusky, was arrested and charged with sexually molesting young boys on campus.  Penn Staters have never forgiven the administration for tearing out the statue.
                            Paterno fans have posted a petition to return the statue on Change.org.  A Facebook page ------ "Put the JoePa Statue Back Where It Belongs" ------ has almost 11,000 Likes.
                            The campaign has targeted PSU's board of trustees.  Penn Staters hold its members in the same esteem as an Obama Death Panel.
                            Last Friday, trustee Alvin Clemens resigned during a meeting in Hershey, saying he regretted voting to fire Paterno.  You can see how history will be rewritten by examining his farewell statement, reported by the AP:
                            "We had no advance notice and little opportunity to discuss and consider the complex issues we faced.  After 61 years of exemplary service, coach Paterno was given no chance to respond.  That was a mistake."
                            He added, "I will always regret that my name is attached to that rush to injustice."
                            At the same meeting, the board came under heavy fire from PSU alumnus Ceil Masel, who denounced the board and the Freeh report.  The "Sandusky scandal," as she called it, and the subsequent NCAA sanctions, have done great damage to Penn State's rep, she said.  Football players have chosen other schools, businesses in State College are suffering, and Penn State "graduates......have endured snide comments during job interviews."
                           And Masel said this: "There is the statue of a well-respected coach, senselessly being held in captivity in some undisclosed location."
                           After the scandal broke, PSU hired ex-FBI director Louis Freeh to investigate, and his report held responsible Paterno, then-PSU athletic director Tim Curley, then-Vice President Gary Schultz and former president Graham Spanier.
                           As Sports Illustrated put it:
                           "The four are portrayed as manipulating administrative channels to protect Sandusky, the football program and their own reputations.  According to the report, the four knew about Sandusky's behavior as far back as 1998, when Sandusky was investigated by several state and university agencies ---- including the police ---- for inappropriate conduct with young boys."
                          My guess is the new narrative will be that Paterno was a kind-hearted but befuddled old man who was blindsided and railroaded by others, or something like that.
                          The problem is that the story is fixed in the infamous roster of the worst American sports scandals, vying for top dishonors with the Black Sox, Pete Rose, Tonya Harding and Tiger Woods.
                          Another problem is that Paterno acknowledged his lapse.
                          "I wish I had done more," he told the Washington Post.
                          The Paterno statue is campy vainglory.  The coach is depicted in mid-stride, right arm lifted, index finger indicating "We're No. 1!"
                          When it is returned, people like Ceil Masel can stand next to it, index fingers raised, but they will be alone in their sentimental victory and empty pomp.