Corbett to file lawsuit against NCAA for Penn State sanctions

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced Wednesday morning his plans to file an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in response to the athletic organization’s sanctions against Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse scandal that rocked the campus in 2011.

During the press conference on Penn State’s campus in State College, Corbett said the sanctions — which include a four year post-season bowl ban, a $60 million fine and drastic football athletic scholarship reductions — wrongly targeted athletes, coaches and business owners.

“Just as we fight for the victims every day, we should stand up and fight for those who have been punished unfairly by the NCAA,” Corbett said.

Pennsylvania’s General Counsel Jim Schultz clarified the nature of the lawsuit, saying that, as a trade association, the NCAA violated its own bylaws by failing to adhere to its own appeals process. He added that the sanctions were levied by a committee that included only NCAA President Mark Emmert and the organization’s executive board.

More importantly, he said, Sandusky’s offenses were a criminal matter and were therefore outside of the NCAA’s jurisdiction.

“The NCAA didn’t have any business in imposing these sanctions … This was a criminal action,” Schultz said.