Penn State Banner Paid For By Group That Also Heckled Tiger Woods

The same group that hired an aerial advertising company to mock Woods at the Masters in 2010 was behind a banner that flew over State College.

Image by STRINGER / Reuters

A banner that flew over State College threatening “Take the [Joe Paterno] statue down or we will” was paid for by the same mystery group that paid for a banner taunting Tiger Woods in the 2010 Masters, BuzzFeed confirmed.

Ted de Reeder, the owner of National Sky Ads, an aerial advertising firm based in Long Island, New York told BuzzFeed that the latest aerial banner was paid for by “a bunch of do-gooders” who did not necessarily have any ties to Penn State.

“I know they have hired me many times when something wrong has been done,” he said.

When asked where they received the money from, he replied “I don’t ask them. They’ve always been honest with me.”

He later added, “I do a lot of crazy stuff.”

According to records first obtained by the Centre Daily Times, the plane was flown out of Ohio by Air America Aerial Ads, the same company used to fly the banners mocking Woods.

“I believe in freedom of speech,” said Air America’s owner, Jim Miller.

De Reeder says he hired Miller’s firm to do the actual flying of the banner.

Miller’s company was suspended by the FAA after the Woods’ incident.

The banner’s appearance came five days after the Freeh Report, an internal investigation, revealed Paterno knew about allegations against Jerry Sandusky as early as 1998.

The FAA declined to comment.