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Quinnipiac Poll: Pennsylvanians Ready To Forgive Joe Paterno

JoePaterno1Pennsylvanians may be torn politically, but for many one thing is sure: They’re ready to start forgiving former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.

A new Quinnipiac poll found that a solid majority (64 percent) support the settlement between the university and the NCAA that restored Paterno’s wins record. Paterno’s 111 wins from 1998 to 2011 had been removed from the record books following the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

The support carried across all age groups and both genders, all topping 60%.

In addition, a majority (59 percent) believe the statue of Paterno should be restored to a place of prominence on the university campus, while a quarter do not. The statue stood near Beaver Stadium but was removed in July 2012, eight months after the scandal erupted.

Like with the settlement, there is little difference between the genders and across age groups about the statue. All support tops 50 percent.

“It appears time heals all wounds and legends get a second chance,” stated Tim Malloy, the assistant director of the Quinnipiac poll. “Joe Pa’s tarnished image may never be totally repaired, but Pennsylvanians seem to be in a forgiving mood.”

The Quinnipiac survey polled 1,023 Pennsylvania adults from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percent.

10 Responses

  1. Joe Pa fulfilled legal obligation but failed to follow up to a moral obligation. There were rumors about Sandusky for a long time. Paterno and Spanier failed, remember Joe had more clout and power than anyone on that campus.

  2. I am a bit disappointed in PA Conservative. While a bit of humility is always a good thing, Joe fulfilled what he was required to do by law, ethics, and the prevailing notions of his era. Spanier did not.

  3. Such a crazy way to word the article. Who says Pennsylvanians “are ready to forgive Paterno”? Maybe its not about forgiving him– maybe it is that their opinion of him never changed. Check out this PoliticsPA article from June 2013, which says that Joe Pa’s favorables were better than the vast majority of politicians, at 47-23–https://www.politicspa.com/quinnipiac-poll-sandusky-case-still-stings-corbett/48515/

    Don’t make up wording that the poll does not indicate. It was not worded as “do you forgive Joe Paterno?” Immediately after the scandal in December 2011, Joe Pa’s favorability was still above water– 44-36. With these numbers, this is not about forgiveness.

  4. Here we go again. If you believe Paterno was railroaded, then you obviously don’t care about Sandusky’s victims. By this logic, Hillary Clinton should be in jail because she helped cover up all of Bill’s sexual assaults.

  5. It would be nice to see a dose of humility from these State supporters. Bringing the statue back will not erase the lack of action by the coach or institution.

  6. The NCAA never had the power to take away those wins anyway!Can’t really rewrite history! Penn State REALLY did win all of those games! History says so! If they could rewrite history, why don’t they put that ability to a really CONSTRUCTIVE use,such as undoing the mass murders at Columbine High, Newtown, and Aurora. Maybe they can erase W.W.II, ISIS….
    The ONLY way to unthrone Joe Pa is to have another coach that will win more games.

  7. Yea, in fact one of those “victims” was quoted saying I can make some money off of this when he offered to testify. Besides, I suppose if someone in your family molested little kids, then I guess you’re saying it’s alright to assume you’re just as guilty along with the rest of your family.

  8. That’s cool. Hey, did anyone ask the kids who’s lives were forever messed up by Jerry Sandusky if they’re ready yet? Those should be the only voices that matter.

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