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Penn State's LaVar Arrington lunges for the foot of Pitt wide receiver Julius Dixon during Penn State's 20-17 victory over Pitt at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 15, 1999.
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LaVar Arrington: Penn State alumni letter reflects 'culture that Joe Paterno built'

John Beale/Post-Gazette

LaVar Arrington: Penn State alumni letter reflects 'culture that Joe Paterno built'

One of Penn State football’s most high-profile alums weighed in on the letter criticizing a current Nittany Lion for his appearance.

LaVar Arrington is a North Hills High School graduate who played linebacker in Happy Valley from 1997-1999 under coach Joe Paterno. He went on FS1’s Marcellus Wiley and Jason Whitlock-hosted “Speak For Yourself” to discuss the letter from Penn State alum Dave Petersen addressed to safety Jonathan Sutherland that urged him to get rid of his “awful hair,” which happens to be dreadlocks.

He said the letter reflects a certain segment of Penn State fandom that misses the Paterno regime.

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“The reality here is that is very much the culture that Joe Paterno built,” Arrington said. “The culture of, when you come to this school ... I came to that school, I’m a kid from the city of Pittsburgh. I’m a Pittsburgh born-and-bred dude. That’s city, that’s urban. You come to this school and, now you’re not allowed to wear earrings, you’re not allowed to have facial hair.

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“The ideology of, if it doesn’t fit the mold of what it is that is acceptable, then it’s disgusting. Then it is inappropriate. It is incorrect, it’s not right. The reason why it’s been so embraced and became such a fabric of Penn State is because of the type of success Penn Staters have been able to have outside of the game of football.”

As an example of a former Nittany Lion football player who went on to great success in other fields, Arrington mentioned one who won a Grammy. He was probably referring to Mike Reid, a defensive lineman who played in State College during the late ‘60s, suited up for the Bengals from 1970-74 and went on to win a Best Country Song Grammy in 1984 for writing Ronnie Milsap’s “Stranger in My House.”

Arrington — who used to sport dreadlocks himself — went on to say that the ethos of the Paterno era “lives in the past of Penn State’s history,” and that’s creating a divide between fans who still idolize his coaching philosophies and those who have embraced how the team currently conducts itself.

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“What you’re seeing here is a disconnect,” he said. “Those kids, young men, who saw the letter and were offended by the letter — which they should’ve been offended by the letter — they know nothing about Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno’s been gone. They may know some of the things that happened in that past, but they’re not connected to that past. The coach is not connected to that past.

“To me, when I look at this situation, you’re looking at the old versus the new. The new has to do what the new is doing in order to be able to compete and be competitive in the line that they’re in. You’re not going to be able to beat Ohio State. You’re not going to be able to compete with Alabama. You’re not going to be able to play those teams unless you get some kids that come from a different culture than what you have been comfortable seeing.”

Whitlock, for his part, provided a different perspective on the situation, one more focused on aesthetic choices.

The letter was first published to social media Monday night by defensive tackle Antonio Shelton and safety Des Holmes, the former saying Petersen was being “racist” and the latter expressing that Petersen’s sentiments were “extremely inappropriate, racially biased and selfish.”

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Penn State coach James Franklin defended Sutherland and denounced the letter during his weekly press conference Tuesday.

“The football that I know and love brings people together and embraces differences,” Franklin said. “Black, white, brown, Catholic, Jewish or Muslim, rich or poor, rural or urban, Republican or Democrat, long hair, short hair or no hair. They’re all in that locker room together.

“Teams all over this country are the purest form of humanity that we have. We don’t judge, we embrace differences. We live, we learn, we grow, we support and we defend each other. We’re a family.”

While on “Speak For Yourself,” Arrington also addressed the rumors that the Washington Redskins — his former NFL team from 2000-05 — were interested in courting Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to replace the recently fired Jay Gruden.

“I think you should always be interested in what an opportunity is that presents itself for you and gain the information that surrounds it,” he said. “But if you’re logically and sensibally looking at what your situation is, if you’re still welcome and you’re still in Pittsburgh and your heart is still there, I think that you’re best serving yourself to try to repair ... what’s going on where you’re at because the structure is there.”

Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222

First Published: October 9, 2019, 12:33 a.m.

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Penn State's LaVar Arrington lunges for the foot of Pitt wide receiver Julius Dixon during Penn State's 20-17 victory over Pitt at Beaver Stadium on Sept. 15, 1999.  (John Beale/Post-Gazette)
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