Joe Paterno spent more than 40 years building a sterling reputation as a rare college football head coach who demanded integrity from himself and his program. But since the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal became public, Paterno's reputation has taken a nosedive.
That dive continued on Thursday, when -- in the wake of the Freeh report, which found that Paterno and Penn State's football program showed "shocking disregard for child victims" -- Nike decided that it no longer wants to be involved with Paterno's name, announcing it will take his name off the Paterno Child Development Center.
The Nike campus had 18 buildings named for sports figures. According to Darren Rovell, Paterno is the first to have his name taken off the building.
"I have been deeply saddened by the news coming out of this investigation at Penn State," Nike CEO Mike Parker, a Penn State grad, said in a statement Thursday. "It is a terrible tragedy that children were unprotected from such abhorrent crimes. With the findings released today, I have decided to change the name of our child care center at our World Headquarters. My thoughts are with the victims and the Penn State community."
For more on the Freeh report, visit this StoryStream. Also check out Black Shoe Diaries for more on Penn State football.