On Saturday, muralist Michael Pilato altered his famous Penn State artwork – by removing a halo painted over the head of former head football coach Joe Paterno – because of revelations about Paterno’s role in the child sexual abuse scandal that has rocked the university.
The mural, which adorns the university bookstore at the corner of Heister Streets and College Avenue in State College, Pa., depicts a group of local luminaries, including Paterno, who was head coach of the Penn State football team for nearly 46 years. Pilato had added the halo after Paterno’s death on Jan. 22.
Pilato and his family have been friends with the Paternos for many years so this decision was a tough one, he said. But after considering what was revealed in last week's Freeh report, Pilato said, he "had no choice."
Slowly the university and other organizations are reacting to the crimes that took place at Penn State:
- Late last year Pilato had removed Jerry Sandusky from the same mural.
- The locker room and showers where he assaulted multiple boys will be completely renovated and rebuilt.
- Nike has indicated that it will rename the Joe Paterno Child Development Center at its world headquarters.
- Brown University, where Paterno played quarterback and cornerback from 1946-49 before graduating in 1950, has removed his name from the title of its head football coaching position and from the name of an award its athletic department gives each year to the school's outstanding freshman male athlete.
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