Now that the idea of naming the field at Beaver Stadium after the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has been shelved, it’s time to mothball it ... permanently.

In two private meetings in January, disclosed by Spotlight PA, high-ranking Penn State representatives and board of trustees members met to discuss the possibility of naming the field after Paterno, who was the Nittany Lions head coach from 1966 to 2011.

Paterno was fired by the board of trustees on Nov. 9, 2011, as a result of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case. Sandusky was an assistant coach at Penn State until 1999. He was convicted of child sex abuse in October 2012 and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

Paterno died of lung cancer 74 days after his firing.

After floating the idea of naming the field after Paterno was brought to light, a resolution by a few trustees was pulled in a meeting this month, as reported by Spotlight PA.

But it was pulled because many thought it was the wrong time to do it, not because it shouldn’t be done. According to the Spotlight PA story, Paterno’s son, Jay Paterno, who is on the board of trustees, said that the university president wasn’t on board at this point and wanted to focus on the challenges the university is facing.

In other words, wait until the furor is over and Penn State gets its financial house in order, then let’s do it. And have a day honoring Joe Paterno and his wife Sue on top of it.

The Paternos certainly did a lot for the university during their time there, giving millions of dollars back to support academic programs. But remember, Paterno made that money from being an adored football coach who was paid a decent salary but also parlayed that job into lucrative endorsements.

We will never know what Joe Paterno knew about Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of boys.

But there was testimony that indicated that Paterno had an inkling of what was happening. Former assistant coach Mike McQueary testified before a grand jury that he told Paterno about an incident in a shower at the Penn State facilities between Sandusky and a young boy. Ten days after telling Paterno, McQueary told university officials the same account.

In 2014 during a deposition for a lawsuit between Penn State and one of its insurers over almost $100 million paid out to Sandusky’s victims, a graphic description of a 1976 assault by Sandusky was documented, according to a story in The New York Times in 2016. The accuser said that he told Paterno the next day about the encounter and that Paterno said “I don’t want to hear about any of that kind of stuff.”

To be fair, Paterno could not defend himself then because he had died 2 years before the deposition.

Football coaches are known for being micromanagers. Paterno was a stickler for details and uniformity - remember his teams didn’t have names on the backs of their jerseys.

It’s possible he didn’t know about Sandusky’s crimes, but it’s also hard to believe he didn’t have some idea. Football coaches, like most folks, don’t like bad news, so it’s easy to envision Paterno brushing it off.

But there’s one other thing that’s being lost in this.

What about the victims?

Not just Sandusky’s, but any child who is a victim of sexual abuse.

Joe Paterno’s name will always be linked to the Jerry Sandusky sex scandal, despite the efforts of some to whitewash that.

It would be insulting to Sandusky’s victims to name the field after Paterno and a slap in the face to any victim of sexual abuse who is watching a Penn State game on television from anywhere in the world and hears the words, “Now running onto the Paterno Field at Beaver Stadium are the Nittany Lions.”

If Penn State officials are truly interested in getting their financial and academic house in order during these challenging times, then do it.

And always make that the top priority.

After the Sandusky scandal, the NCAA stripped Paterno of 111 wins. Those wins were reinstated in 2015 after a legal settlement.

With 409 wins to his credit, that is enough to honor Paterno’s legacy as a football coach.

Naming the field after him would be an egregious mistake and send a terrible message.

Tom DeSchriver | tdeschriver@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.