Penn State's football stadium is no longer just missing Joe Paterno as a coach.
Now, the statue that honored him is gone too.
It was early Sunday morning that crews removed the larger than life statue made in Paterno's likeness.
The controversial removal came after reports that the greatly admired coach concealed claims of sex abuse involving retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
But did his actions, or inaction, overshadow his life's work, and merit the removal of the iconic statue?
Opinions in Erie are varied.
"I'm against it," said Jodie Heckman. "I think it should've stayed up. He was a great man, he was a man he wasn't a god... and he did a lot of good things for that community."
Matthew Piskor is happy with the decision to take the statue down, saying, "If he actually spent ten years worth of cover ups, then take it down."
The choice to take the statue down isn't the only decision concerning Penn State right now.
The NCAA is set to announce penalties against the football program Monday morning.
Former Penn State football player and Erie native Drew Astorino is worried about how the penalties will affect future players.
"It's extremely upsetting, I take a lot of pride in going to Penn State and I know it's a lot of kids dreams and it was my dream to play at Penn State someday. It's a great program... the athletes there work so hard to get where they are now."
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