Penn State AD calls hockey team's Paterno tribute 'inappropriate and insensitive'

The Penn State men's ice hockey team caught the ire of the university's athletic director this weekend after wearing stickers that read "409" on their helmets to honor the late Joe Paterno.

Paterno, who had 111 wins restored after a settlement with the NCAA, posthumously returned to his place atop the list of winningest college football coaches, an honor that was taken from him in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

As a tribute, the hockey team wore these stickers on the back of their helmets during Friday night's game against Michigan State:

On Saturday, athletic director Sandy Barbour, who later said she was thrilled to have the wins restored, responded to a tweet asking if she and the university thought it was a good idea, saying the stickers were "inappropriate and insensitive."

The men's basketball team had planned on wearing warm-up shirts that read "409" prior to Saturday's game against Purdue, but that never happened, presumably after an internal memo from Barbour.