Late Wednesday night, “Costas Tonight” aired on NBCSN and examined the Freeh Report and the Paterno family’s lawsuit against the NCAA.
In a statement issued Wednesday night, which you can read in its entirety HERE, news of that lawsuit was made official. The plaintiffs in the suit, which will be filed Thursday, include the Paterno family, along with “several members of the Penn State Board of Trustees, faculty and former players and coaches.”
As expected, the crux of the lawsuit stems from the idea that the NCAA and its president, Mark Emmert, forced Penn State’s hand into signing a consent decree based on the Freeh Report. The suit states Emmert “and former chairman of the executive committee, Edward Ray, acted in clear and direct violation of the organization’s own rules based on a flawed report by former FBI director Louis Freeh.” In all, Emmert and Ray are facing six counts, including breach of contract, civil conspiracy, defamation and commercial disparagement. The suit asks that the sanctions levied against the Penn State football program be overturned and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages from the NCAA.
Here’s more from the statement:“This case is further proof that the NCAA has lost all sense of its mission. If there was ever a situation that demanded meticulous review and a careful adherence to NCAA rules and guidelines, this was it. Instead, the NCAA placed a premium on speed over accuracy and precipitous action over due process,” said Wick Sollers, attorney for those filing the lawsuit.
“An illegally imposed penalty that is based on false assumptions and secret discussions is a disservice to the victims and everyone else who cares about the truth of the Sandusky scandal,” Sollers said. “This matter will never be resolved until the full facts are reviewed in a lawful and transparent manner.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett has already filed a similar suit against the NCAA. How that case, as well as this one, holds up in court remains to be seen.