Pa Governor Sues the NCAA Over Sanctions Placed on Penn State

In case you didn’t follow one of the biggest sports stories in history, Penn State University was involved in a scandal that will stain the university’s reputation for decades.  Former football coach Jerry Sandusky spent a lot of years engaging in highly inappropriate acts with young boys, in many cases right on the Penn State University campus.  This led to one of the most serious crackdowns in NCAA history and a large number of lawsuits set to be filed on the matter.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett says that he plans to sue the NCAA over the sanctions that were imposed, arguing that the university didn’t deserve such a harsh and costly punishment.  The case has been filed in US District Court in Harrisburg, PA.  The action accuses the NCAA of antitrust violations, which has been alleged in other lawsuits.

The NCAA sanctions included a fine of $60 million dollars that would be used to fight against child abuse across the country in a series of prevention grants.  Penn State was also banned for four years from competing in lucrative bowl games, in addition to losing quite a few scholarships and the forfeiture of 112 wins.

Kathleen Kane, the new state Attorney General, was sworn in on January 15th of this year.  There is no word as to whether or not she’s going to be involved in the lawsuit.  Kane is a Democrat, and the governor is a Republican, which could complicate the motives that connect to the lawsuit. Kane vowed to find out why it took three years for prosecutors to charge  Sandusky for his crimes.  Governor Corbett was the attorney general when the case was taken over in 2009.

State lawmakers are upset that Penn State’s money is going to be used to finance initiatives in other states.  The university has made its first payment of $12 million, and the NCAA gets to decide how the money is going to be spent.  The NCAA says that at least one-fourth of the funds are going to be spent in the state of Pennsylvania.

Sandusky has been sentenced to 30 to 60 years for his crimes against young boys.  Penn State coach Joe Paterno died with his legacy tarnished in a way that was previously unimaginable.  A statue of Paterno was taken down after the incident, and there is no plan to put it up at a later date.

 

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