With the signing of Bill O’Brien looming over Happy Valley its safe to say some are not happy with the decision. Alumni and students alike felt that Tom Bradley or someone on the current staff should have been given a better chance at winning this job. That was not the case. Former All-American and Penn State player LaVar Arrington is one such alumni that is cutting his connection with the university completly. Arrington tweeted that he was done with Penn State “until there’s a new board and new leadership.” HE went on to say in an interview with BlueWhiteIllustrated.com.
“I will put my Butkus (Award) in storage. I will put my Alamo Bowl MVP trophy in storage,” Arrington told the website this morning. “Jerseys, anything Penn State, in storage. Wherever Tom Bradley goes, that’s the school I will start to put memorabilia up in my home. I’m done. I’m done with Penn State. If they’re done with us, I’m done with them. …
“By these people making the decisions the way that they are making them, basically coinciding with everything that’s being written about our university, if they get rid of Tom Bradley, that means they in essence have accepted the fact that we are all guilty. You might as well call it all the same thing.”
image credit: alumniconnections.com
That’s pretty harsh words coming from one of the most vocal alumni in Penn State history. Arrington is not alone in his view toward the school. Former All American linebacker Brandon Short also commented on the hiring of a non-Penn Stater.
“I don’t want to be affiliated with the university”
“if they don’t choose a Penn State guy because of our standards, our graduation, all the things that have been important… it’s no longer Penn State, so we might as well be in the SEC. They are intent on turning it into a booster culture. Ira Lubert went out and purchased a national title with wrestling and he’s under the illusion that he can do that in football. Well, ask (Redskins owner) Dan Snyder about that.”
“Penn State is a family and it is real and if they choose to get rid of Bradley and not hire a Penn State coach, then they’ve turned their backs on our entire family.
I personally am not too fond of the way these alumni have bashed a school that is currently in transition. I do agree that the board in charge of finding a new head coach have been very anti-Paterno in its coaching search. The school has gone after NFL coachinf prosects and have stayed away from anyone even remotely related to Paterno and his system. The alumni should not disconnect themselves from this university. Like Short said we are a family and this family needs the support of its alumni as well as those currently enrolled. Bill O’Brien has a lot of guts to step into a situation that not many would ant to concern themselves with, at the very least he does deserve support of the school. To many he may not be the right fit at this moment, but coach O’Brien will have his time to prove himself.
Mike Edler
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