Penn State coach responds to question about ‘409’ tribute with 24 seconds of silence

1. Two years ago, the NCAA vacated 112 of Penn State’s football wins as part of sanctions having to do with an alleged coverup of Jerry Sandusky’s sexual assaults.

2. Friday, after walking back most of its other sanctions along the way, the NCAA restored those 112 wins as part of a legal settlement whose broader impact was finally getting $60 million in PSU money sent to children’s charities. This again made Joe Paterno No. 1 in all-time Division I wins in the official records, with 409.

3. Some of Penn State’s other teams responded with the following, appearing to many to align with the notion that Paterno, Sandusky’s boss, was blameless in the story:

4. New Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour called the tributes “inappropriate and insensitive” ...

... before speaking more broadly.

5. Penn State’s hockey coach, Guy Gadowsky, gave an awkward interview to TSN about the reaction to the decals.

“Instead of opening the wound, it was to turn the page,” he said, repeatedly describing the tribute as something done to support current students.

When asked how Sandusky’s victims would feel about the decals, Gadowsky went wordless for almost half a minute before repeating “this was in support of the student body” and saying “it wasn’t directed at anything other than that.”

“It was supposed to be a positive thing for all of us,” he said, agreeing that the tribute didn’t turn out positive “for everybody.”