( CNN ) -- Over the past couple of days , I 've listened with mounting frustration as people debate whether Penn State University should remove from its campus the 900-pound bronze statue of Joe Paterno , its once-legendary football coach . It 's as if , to the folks who demand action , taking away a metal JoePa would serve as another blow to the real JoePa ; one last spear in the heart of the fallen hero who apparently looked elsewhere as Jerry Sandusky , his longtime assistant coach and friend , molested one child after another . Sadly , it just does n't work that way . As much as I have come to abhor Joe Paterno 's indifference and arrogance and self-serving loyalty ( to himself and his image and his stupid little football program ) , I fail to see how digging out a statue does anything but conflict with ( what should be ) one of the most important elements of higher education : Open and honest and intelligent dialogue . Were I in command of this decision , not only would I make certain the statue stays , I 'd surround it with flood lights and fireworks and hire Flavor Flav to hype its very presence . `` Come one , come all ! Camp out ! Bring classmates ! Observe the bronze Joe Paterno ! Debate away ! '' Truth be told , the last thing we ( and Penn State ) should be doing right now is trying to hide and forget what happened . Bronze Joe Paterno needs to remain , because we need to talk about this . We need to discuss ways to stop child abuse . We need to discuss the courage it takes to step forward , especially when it 's significantly easier to remain silent . We need to discuss the goals of college . Mostly , we need to discuss statues themselves -- and what they reflect . The reason Jerry Sandusky was able to perpetrate his evil is because at Penn State ( as at hundreds of other Division I schools across America ) sports have exceeded academics in importance . The athletic programs are responsible for large dollars ; for large enrollments ; for national attention ; for eternal glory . They are not to be stopped or interfered with or questioned . University : Paterno statue to be removed . Joe Paterno has a statue for the same reason Auburn University built one for former quarterback Cam Newton ( a non-graduate who attended the school for one year ) -- because football ( literally , the launching of a synthetic oval contraption through the air ) exceeds all else . Why , in 2007 , five Penn State scientists ( Richard Alley , William Easterling , Klaus Keller , Michael Mann , Anne Thompson ) shared the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate change issues . None of them have statues ( rest assured , had any committed Sandusky-like acts , they would have been turned over to the authorities in minutes ) . None of them will have statues . Ever . That 's pathetic . Bronze Joe Paterno needs to stay because , deep within his metallic eyeballs , there is a story to be told . Years and years from now , when most of us are gone and this scandal is merely a blip in history , he will hopefully serve as the essential reminder that , once upon a time , we deified people for their ability to win ultimately meaningless and trivial games . And we paid a dear price for doing so . Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jeff Pearlman .
Penn State is considering the removal of its bronze Joe Paterno statue . Its removal would conflict with an important aspect of higher education , says Jeff ##s . The statue needs to remain , because we need to talk about what happened , he says . Pearlman : Why have sports have exceeded academics in importance at schools ?