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NCAA wants Pennsylvania’s suit over Sandusky dropped

Association says state has no standing to sue

By Cathleen Flahardy

February 8, 2013 • Reprints

The fallout from the scandal never ends.

Last month, the governor of Pennsylvania filed suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), claiming the $60 million sanctions against the Pennsylvania State University over the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal will devastate the state’s economy. And this week, the NCAA fired back—telling Pennsylvania to take its suit and shove it.

Well, more accurately, it asked a court to throw out the suit, saying the state has no standing to bring the case. “This lawsuit is an inappropriate attempt to drag the federal courts into an intra-state political dispute,” the NCAA said in its court filing.

In late 2011, news broke that some Penn State officials had ignored and covered up an ongoing sex abuse scandal within its football program involving Sandusky, its assistant football coach. The fallout was epic: The school officials involved in the cover-up, including famed head coach Joe Paterno, were fired from their posts; serial child molester Sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison—likely the rest of his life—for his actions; and, of course, the NCAA slapped that multimillion-dollar fine on Penn State for failing to stop the abuse.

But Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett thought the fine was excessive. In a news conference in January, when he filed the suit, Corbett said, "I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without a fight." In his suit, he accuses the NCAA of using the Sandusky scandal as a “pretext” to impose excessive sanctions, which he says is a violation of antitrust law.

Read more about this latest development in the Sandusky drama on Bloomberg.

For more InsideCounsel stories about the scandal, see:

Pa. governor sues NCAA over Penn State scandal

Penn State’s GC was criticized too harshly for her role in the Sandusky scandal

Former Penn State president says there was no cover-up

Whistleblower in Penn State sexual abuse scandal sues school

NCAA fines Penn State $60 million

Penn State GC criticized in report

Former Penn State assistant coach to sue university

Lessons from the Penn State scandal