Governor Corbett sues NCAA over Penn State sanctions

    UPDATED 1:45 p.m.  Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett announced his plan to sue the NCAA over sanctions imposed against Penn State after the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

    Gov. Corbett said he intends to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in an effort to overturn what he said were “harsh penalties” against Penn State because of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.

    Corbett flanked by members of his staff and current and former students and athletes from the school, said the NCAA punished students, the community and businesses around the university, not the former assistant football coach who molested children.

    “These sanctions did not punish Sandusky. Nor did they punish the others who had been criminally charged. Rather, they punished the past, the present and the future students.”

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    The sanctions imposed in July included a $60 million fine for child abuse prevention grants, a four-year bowl game ban for the university’s marquee football program and the forfeiture of 112 wins.

    When the NCAA announced its sanctions in July, Corbett said they should be “accepted” as “part of [the corrective process]” for an alleged cover-up of sexual assaults against young boys.

    Penn State is keeping its distance from the lawsuit, saying it played “no role in its preparation or filing.”

    Corbett said the lawsuit to be filed Wednesday would show the NCAA actions were overreaching and unlawful.

    “On behalf of the citizens of Pennsylvania, the businesses here in State College and Centre County and throughout Pennsylvania who are being harmed by this – that’s why we’re doing this. This is not a political case,” said Corbett.

    The NCAA is blasting Corbett’s move, calling it an “affront to all of the victims of this tragedy.”

    Sandusky is a retired Penn State assistant football coach who was found guilty of sexually abusing boys. He’s serving 30 to 60 years in prison, though he maintains his innocence.

     

     

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