Paterno family statement on Gov. Corbett suit against NCAA

    STATE COLLEGE, Pa. 

    Joe Paterno’s family says it’s encouraged by word that Gov. Tom Corbett is filing a federal lawsuit against the NCAA over its sanctions against Penn State.

    The family of the late football coach released a statement Wednesday that says that Corbett “now realizes, as do many others, that there was an inexcusable rush to judgment” in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.

    The NCAA imposed a $60 million fine, a multiyear bowl ban and other penalties in the wake of a report by former FBI Director Louis Freeh that concluded Paterno and other Penn State officials covered up abuse reports. The scandal cost Paterno his job two months before his death last January at age 85.

    • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

    Corbett says he is seeking to get the NCAA sanctions tossed.

    WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

    Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

    Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal