The lasting legacy of former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno morphed into an existing lawsuit his family levied against the NCAA.
In the lawsuit, the family asked “for a declaration that the plaintiffs have rights under the NCAA rules that were violated, and that the Consent Decree imposed by the NCAA is null and void.”
A judge ruled in the Paternos’ favor Thursday, according to WeAreCentralPA.com’s John Clay.
“A judge in Cook county ruled Thursday that the Paterno’s case will move forward and that the plaintiff’s will be granted full range of discovery which means that many key figures involved in the acceptance of the consent decree could be called to testify under oath for the first time,” Clay reported. “In his ruling today, the judge also allowed the Paterno family to move forward with claims of defamation.”
Even though the judge will allow the case to move forward, the NCAA decided Monday to waive the remaining sanctions still hovering over the Penn State football team.
“Due to Penn State University’s significant progress toward ensuring its athletics department functions with integrity, the NCAA Executive Committee today eliminated the school’s postseason ban, effective immediately, and will return the full complement of football scholarships in 2015-16,” a statement from the NCAA claimed.
In the end, the Paterno family was partially vindicated by the actions of the NCAA.