Gov. Tom Corbett announced Wednesday that he is suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its sanctions against Penn State University.
Corbett called the sanctions arbitrary and illegal, saying they would hurt the university, the state and Pennsylvanians.
What do you think of this lawsuit? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. (Scroll to below the complete text of Corbett’s statement.)
Corbett's Complete Press Release: Governor Tom Corbett today announced that he is suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), calling its sanctions against Penn State University arbitrary and illegal, saying they would result in irreparable economic damage to the university, the commonwealth and its citizens.
“Penn State football has played a major role, not only as a focus of campus life, but as a generator of revenue for a proud university, a leading tourist attraction and a creator of jobs in the state,’’ Corbett said.
“In the wake of this terrible scandal, Penn State was left to heal and clean up this tragedy that was created by the few. The students, the alumni, the board, the administration and faculty all came together at that moment and began to rebuild.
“At that same time, while the healing was taking place, the NCAA piled on, choosing to levy, in their words, ‘unprecedented sanctions’ against Penn State and its football program,’’ Corbett said.
“While what occurred at Penn State was both criminal and heinous,’’ Corbett said, “the conduct for which Penn State was sanctioned consisted of alleged failures to report criminal activity on campus that did not impact fairness or integrity on the playing field.’’
“These punishments threaten to have a devastating, long-lasting and irreparable effect on the state, its citizens and its economy,’’ Corbett said.
The governor, on behalf of Pennsylvania’s citizens, asked the court to throw out all of the NCAA’s sanctions, including the $60 million fine, and asked that the court declare the consent agreement illegal.
After months of research and deliberation, as well as discussions with alumni, students, faculty, business owners and elected officials, Corbett said he has concluded that the NCAA’s sanctions were “overreaching and unlawful.’’
“The only logical conclusion is that the NCAA did it because they benefited from the penalties and because the leadership of the NCAA believed they could. And that’s wrong,’’ Corbett said.
“These sanctions are an attack on past, present and future students of Penn State, the citizens of our commonwealth and our economy. As governor of this commonwealth, I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without a fight.’’
The lawsuit, to be filed today in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, also accuses the NCAA of forcing Penn State president Rodney Erickson into silent compliance with its sanctions by threatening to impose even more debilitating sanctions to the football program.
Corbett called NCAA's application of enforcement "arbitrary and capricious" with the intent of crippling Penn State football and harming the citizens of Pennsylvania who benefit from a successful football program at Penn State.
Such benefits, the governor added, range from a college student waitressing at a State College restaurant and local business owners, to its tremendous financial contribution to the university and the state.
The NCAA is a trade association whose major purpose is to set the rules for competition in intercollegiate athletics and exists by mutual consent of its members.
“However, the NCAA leadership can’t make up its own rules,’’ Corbett said. In this case, “a handful of top NCAA officials simply inserted themselves into an issue they had no authority to police and one that was clearly being handled by the justice system.’’
The fact that the alleged actions of those involved in the tragic events at Penn State were criminal, and that no violation of NCAA rules had been identified, would not dissuade Mark Emmert, NCAA president, from seizing upon the international publicity to make a show of unprecedented and aggressive discipline.
The NCAA simply informed Penn State what the punishments would be, threatening that if Penn State did not waive its right to due process and accept the sanctions offered, the NCAA would impose the "death penalty" for four years, which would forbid the football team from all competition.
The type of "complete cooperation" Emmert advised Penn State was clear: Accept unprecedented sanctions and ignore the NCAA's flagrant disregard of its own procedures in issuing such sanctions or Penn State would wish it had.
Penn State had no practical alternative but to accept the sanctions, including releasing players from their commitment to play in State College.
The additional four-year ban on bowl games will result in a drastic reduction in scholarships for a football team consisting of coaches and players who had nothing to do with the criminal conduct.
“They wiped out the wins for football alumni – who proudly wore the Penn State uniform and represented the university well during their time in school,’’ Corbett added.
Penn State’s football program is more than just a success on the playing field, it perennially boasts one of the highest graduation rates among Division I football programs and has been a significant economic driver of the university, playing an important role in enabling the university to offer a variety of first-rate programs through resources other than student tuition.
In addition:
- It was the second most profitable collegiate athletic program in the nation in 2010-11, earning more than $50 million, and was the most profitable program among its immediate competitors in the Big Ten Conference.
- It was the most valuable contributor to intercollegiate expenses for all student-athletes at the university, providing 37 percent of revenue for athletic programs in the 2011 fiscal year. At the same time, the football program amounted to only 15 percent of athletics expenses.
“The university is an economic engine, creating jobs, not only university-related jobs, but jobs in the hotel, restaurant and tourism industry and generating hundreds of millions of dollars for businesses of all sizes in the commonwealth.’’
Specifically, Penn State‘s football program:
- Brings in an estimated 15 percent of visitors to Penn State football games from outside the state;
- Generated $161.5 million to business volume impact in 2009, with $90 million benefitting Centre County alone;
- Spent $16 million in Pennsylvania on goods and services with contractors and vendors in 2009 – essentially pumping money back into the state’s economy;
- Creates about 2,200 jobs - both direct jobs, such as box office and concession staff, and indirect jobs, such as shopkeepers to restaurant and hotel staff; and
- Generates more than $5 million in tax revenue and supports a number of community programs run through and in conjunction with football and student athletics.
“The NCAA and its president, Mark Emmert, seized upon the opportunity for publicity for their own benefit to make a showing of aggressive discipline on the backs of the citizens of our commonwealth and Penn State University,’’ Corbett said, “and this is why I have chosen to fight this in the courts.’’
“These sanctions did not punish Sandusky for his despicable and criminal action. Nor did they punish the others who have been charged criminally. Rather, they punished the past, present and future students, current and former student athletes, faculty members, local businesses and the citizens of Pennsylvania who have come to cherish this great university.’’
Earnest
3:43 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
So Corbett will spend taxpayers money on a law suit, but cuts funding to limit the best possible education for the taxpayers children.
Could Corbett be trying to suddenly paint himself as someone who cares in an effort to distract from the fact that he was a complete failure in his duty to fully investigate Penn State? Didn't the newly elected State Attorney General say that she would be opening an investigation into Corbett's failure in the Penn State and child rapist case?
Wasn't Corbett on Penn State's Board while the horror was taking place? Corbett is clearly acting on the behalf of (select) citizens not all PA citizens. This suit does nothing for any citizen that doesn't have a personal connection to Penn State, but we are all going to finance his law suit.
Tim Lewis
8:22 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Ummm - what state funds did Corbett cut for education? Please be specific - but I won't hold my breath waiting for an answer because they don't exist.
Leslie Greene
8:48 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Tim:
In his first year in office, Corbett cut educational funding buy $550 million. See
the Inquirer's on line articles @ Philly.com for details. He is responsible for much of the Philadelphia School District's, the Chester School District's and other urban PA districts' financial problems.
TheNate
9:26 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Corbett wanted to cut much more for education, but had to compromise because not everyone in Harrisburg is as anti-education as he is:
http://articles.mcall.com/2012-07-05/news/mc-pa-corbett-education-reform-budget-20120705_1_tom-corbett-spending-plan-education-budget
Breathe easy, Tim, and start checking your facts.
Some One Like You
12:26 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
in 2010 Gov. Corbett advanced $860 million in funding cuts for education which left the states most neediest students even more worse off. For example the Chester Upland School Distinct. This is just for Mr Lewis who is unaware of what is going on in his own state. Taking on the NCAA about this situation is probably one of the dumbest things I have heard Corbett do. Everyone, except the students, dropped the ball at Penn State as it pertains to Sandusky. Every action has a consequence and Penn State has to suffer the consequences.
Tim Lewis
12:35 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
I will concede that a portion of the "cuts" were state dollars - but the majority, over $700 million - of that funding was federal stimulus money. Schools implemented permanent programs based on the federal funding, and cried when the state would not continue those programs.
Liz Rosenbaum
4:32 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Corbett is an unbelievable scumbag. He looked the other way when he was AG and Sandusky was raping children. Now this devious moron wants his football back?? He belongs in a cell with Sandusky. Kathleen Kane should make prosecuting him the first order of business. This man is the worst governor we've ever had.
David Curran
5:01 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Liz, I agree he is the worst Governor I can recollect... The problem is the NCAA penalty is to harsh. Millions of dollars PA is going to have to pay; not counting the lawsuits directly related to the claims against Penn State.
On a side note, has anyone determined how much PA has spent on their voter suppression tactics this past election cycle? I am really curious to see how much state funds were used in this. Total waste of taxpayer money
Marge Miller
5:16 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
It's about time Corbett did something about the NCAA sanctions which only have hurt innocent people.The NCAA should be ashamed of themselves. Moreover, had Corbett done his job as AG, we wouldn't be having a conversation about Penn State.
Richard Weisgrau
6:05 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
I am not a fan of Corbett, and I look forward to the day he is out of office. Still I think the law suit against the NCAA is proper, and I think that Corbett has laid out the reasons very well. The NCAA has the power to regulate college sports. While the pedophilia on the PS Campus was a criminal and civil offense it was not a result of the football program. It was a result of people in the program gone bad and doing wrong.
Suppose it had been a professor. Would stifling the department he worked in be the right course of action. The players who won all the titles over the years did not do anything wrong. Why take away their record achievements. People are in and will be going to jail over the offenses. Civil suits will result in damages. Courts will decide what the penalties are. That was not and is not the role of the NCAA.
kevin
12:40 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
I agree. Well said.
Judy Jones
9:27 pm on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
quoted by Gov. Tom Corbett : "Do sanctions alter history books on Penn State?"
YES. It helps to deter other institutions from enabling, empowering, and covering up sex crimes against innocent children. Corbett's action is very hurtful to the victims of Sandusky and all sex abuse victims, They do not deserve to be dismissed and harmed anymore.
Judy Jones, SNAP Midwest Associate Director, USA, 636-433-2511. snapjudy@gmail.com,
"SNAP (The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) is the world's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 12,000 members. Despite the word priest in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, teachers, Protestant ministers and increasingly, victims who were assaulted in a wide range of institutional settings like orphanages, summer camps, athletic programs, Boy Scouts, etc."
Richard Weisgrau
12:13 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Judy, I wish I could believe your notion that the big fine will be a deterrent. I doubt it. The crimes committed and the cover up was the work of men who had self serving agendas. They will pay through the court system. The past, present, and future football teams did not do it. It was an evil man and self serving men that did it. Punishing the institutional sport for the rimes of some men is unjust to the innocent players, merchants and others. When priests were exposed and prosecuted for molesting children parishes were not shut down. If done, that would be punishing the parishioners for the crimes of a evil men.
I'd rather see Penn State pay out the 60 million to the victims than to the NCAA for its proposed abuse prevention programs. I'm sorry, but the abusers are not going to attend the programs. They are not going to stop abusing children. The only recourse is watchful prevention, swift investigation, and hard core prosecution. Jail and fine those who fail to deal with the such matters and/or cover them up. That will have a deterrent effect. Jail the offenders for life without parole. That will not be a deterrent, but it will keep like;y repeat offenders off the street. Let the law enforcement and the courts deal with the perpetrators. Let civil court deal with institutional punishment of the places that harbor abuse. Let the NCAA deal with college sports programs.
Thank you for the work you do. It's commendable.
area man
12:49 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Abuse of a child should be a capital offense. For those of you who say no, jail time and rehabilitation are enough. Look at the recitavision (sp) rates. Those who enable the deviants should spend a very long time in jail. A very long time. I am not saying Corbett had a role in enabling this horror at all. The story continues to unfold. God be with the victims and their families.
Curmudgeon
5:54 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wow: Whether you like Corbett or not, he inherited a mess from Rendell. Smoke and mirror budgets, moving $$ around, not funding the teacher's pension plan!! We have had NO tax increases with none planned. Is this bad?? Guess it is if you are one of the takers. It was time to pay the piper and he is steadying the ship. Sorry he's not as affable as Rendell. Maybe he should go on Comcast to tell us about the Eagles. That helps balance the buget.
patrick
8:09 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
The mess was the 14 years of a Republican legislature. You are a curmudgeon, which is the first step toward your recovery.
republican=stupid
I_Love_Delco!
10:51 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Takers, check!
Teachers union, check!
Trash Rendell, check!
Ok, I think I have all the talking points covered...
Earnest
11:11 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Curmudgeon it was actually Tom Ridge and the Republican Legislature that made the decision to not up hold their end of the agreement in contributions to the teacher's pension plan. Like gambling addicts they decided to gamble with the taxpayers money believing that they would win big and double their money. I will agree that Rendell did nothing, but make matters worse however, the Republican's carry a great deal of responsibility in flushing the taxpayers money down the toilet when it comes to meeting their responsibilities in making agreed upon contributions. I do believe that the Legislature was controlled by Republicans for something like 14 years, as someone else pointed out. They gambled with our money and the now demonize professional educators rather than take personal responsibility for their destructive actions.
No tax increases??? Corbett and the Republican Legislature simply shifted the tax increases to the local level. I don't know where you live, but property taxes have had to go up in an effort to save the high quality of many of the public schools in this area. It is no secret that Corbett does not support public schools and wants to privatize the education system.
Takers? Curmudgeon do you drive on roads and bridges, have mail delivered to your home? Did you attended public school? If you're retired do you have medicare? If there is a disaster where you live will you reject the National Guards assistance? I'm sure this list could be longer.
Tim Lewis
12:37 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Earnest, why does it always come back to "roads and bridges"? The things you cite are a small portion of spending at both state and federal levels. If the government stopped spending on stuff it has no business being involved with, there would be plenty of money for roads and bridges.
mr grinch
6:59 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Mr Corbett, you just secured your vote for scumbag 2013. Congrats.
Nick Matregrano
7:33 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
"One Term Tom" never ceases to amaze me. How much is this going to cost the tax payers now??
Dynamo47
7:39 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
I voted for him but this is way over the line. Not only did he turn the other cheek back when he was the Attorney General but now he wants to file a law suit? If the suit was simply to keep the $60 million in the state to help abused children I could understand it but it is more than that.
Penn State Officials buried child sexual abuse for one reason and one reason only and that was to protect the cash cow football program. If it was the art professor or even a low profile sport they would have thrown them to the wolves. The ONLY reason they didn't was because they could not jeopardize the sterling image of Penn State football and the millions of dollars in revenue it brought the university.
I was a lifelong Penn State fan and have not watched one game since. Personally I think the program should have been given the death penalty for 5 years minimum. If SMU received the death penalty for paying players surely allowing a member of the football staff to rape innocent children would warrant a stiffer penalty.
People argue that this is not a football issue but it totally is because the powers that be (including Joe Paterno) allowed it to happen to protect the football program.
Penn State is an excellent university and would continue to provide a quality education with or without a football program.
I_Love_Delco!
10:55 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Dynamo, the one challenge with your assertion is that there was no evidence that anyone associated with the football program "allowed" anything to happen. Unlike SMU where the culprits did what they did to enhance the football program. there is some disconnect here as there was a single actor, (Sandusky), and some potential cover-up by the administration, (still not yet proven in court), but none of this was done for the benefit of the football team.
Robert Banner
7:47 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
How can I share my thoughts on this when you have not done a good job of reporting on this?
Running a whole press release isn't a news story. What it is is lazy work. A real journalist would have also interviewed a Penn State official for their side and Corrbett or one of his people to see how they respond to what the Penn person said.
And wasn't Patch supposed to be hyper local? Lucy couldn't you find a Havertown lawyer to share his or her thoughts on this?
You are doing us a great disservice by being lazy and not being objective.
TheNate
9:29 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
I agree. A little follow-up or extra analysis, or even a local perspective, would actually make this a news story and not a repackaged press release. Patch editors should do more to earn their bylines.
I_Love_Delco!
10:57 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Then you should go ahead and do this and submit it to Patch...
Lucy Bennett
4:43 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Actually Robert, the reason this was posted was so we could get your input and your neighbors'. We want to know what you think about it and foster a discussion.
TheNate
5:07 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Or you could have gotten some expert commentary and/or a local slant, then opened it up for comments. That would have been better for everyone.
John Q. Public
8:15 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Punishing kids, some who were in H.S. when the crimes occurred, to revenge other kids is pure nonsense. Unjust actions do not satisfy justice, and these sanctions do NOTHING for the victims. Various carpetbaggers groups, who have a financial stake in the fines, would benefit, but not the kids, who are being punished.
Robert
9:52 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Huh? Punish kids? If you are talking about the penn state students, they are not kids, they are legally adults and have the freedom of choice to go to any other university they choose, which many have. Penn state officials are the ones who disgraced the Penn State name, and Corbett sat on the Penn State board. He is just trying to save face. He will lose this suit and cost the tax payers more money in legal fees and court costs.
Anthony Wayne
9:36 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
The NCAA stepped up to punish the existing culture in place which saw the reputation of the school and its employees and the revenue they created, as the primary focus of their protection efforts. The draconian measures were clearly meant to punish PSU and to discourage other institutions from following the same immoral thought process. A cloud of impropriety surrounds then attorney general corbett regarding his investigation procedure into the matter in light of the financial support given his campaign for governor by none other than the second mile, an organization designed to supply fresh victims to sandusky. $400,000 plus buys a lot of influence. This open prostitution is endemic in our political system today. The double standards exibitited by "our leaders" reach every aspect of government yet "the majority" continue to elect and re elect drug addicts to manage the pharmacy. The twisted irony of this sad situation comes as no surprise to anyone even half awake, and illustrates once again the disgrace our country has become as we abandon our rule of law for democracy.
I_Love_Delco!
10:59 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
LSD abuse is a horrible thing.
Earnest
11:43 am on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Question - Can this lawsuit impede (in any way) the new State Attorney Generals ability to investigate Corbett's actions or lack of action involving Penn State when he served as Sate Attorney General?
edufan
10:06 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
no
Robert Banner
1:53 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
@I Love DelCo That's the problem with Patch. I have seen them run things written by untrained and nonprofessional "reporters". I just feel that if I'm coming to a professional news website the stories should be written by paid professionals and written objectively.
Robert Banner
5:02 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
I cannot give you my input because you didn't give me any balance information to base my decision on. You didn't speak to the NCAA or Penn State. As my friend said to me earlier today, every other newspaper and network spoke to all of those folks and they are getting people to comment. Patch used to do that. I just may join the other people who stopped coming to this Patch if the "stories" will be like this.
Richard Weisgrau
6:19 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
To the disgruntled:
Patch is not a news organization in the traditional sense of that term. It is a community bulletin board that strives to inform local residents, give them a voice, allow debate, and make us all more aware. Patch has been that since its origin. It has been nothing more or less. Condemning Patch for not doing the work of News organizations is misplaced criticism.
I learned of Corbett's action via Patch, not ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, AP, UPI, Reuters, or other large scale news organization. Upon learning I did my own research as I prefer to not be spoon fed the opinions of others. I formed my opinions based upon my own research and expressed them in this forum. No other media service gave me that opportunity to speak to my neighbors.. Yes, I could have been one of thousands who posted on CNN, Huffington, or other news sites, but I wanted what I wrote to be read by someone.
The nature of media is finally changing after centuries of the people being fed opinions by pundits, so-called impartial reporters, and advertising supported journalists. I love it. I do not want help to do research and formulate an opinion. I do not expect or want one source to refine the information I need or want. I want the lead, and I will take it from there. That is what education did for me.
Patch has opened some of our eyes regardless of the readers point of view. That is good.
Walt
8:45 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
Richard- well said. Patch is neighbors talking over fences. It fills a void that the large media outlets can not handle.
Robert Banner
10:50 pm on Thursday, January 3, 2013
It is a community bulletin now, but it used to be a news Web site. The Havertown Patch was a great place to be when it first came out years ago. It had real articles and it gave a well-balanced report of all the topics with no opinion.
When it first arrived Patch president said it was a news place that was filling the hole left behind the newspapers that are dying out. And many of the editors did not tell us it was a bulletin board and it certainly is not what we want.
If you like it as a community bulletin board that is great. But for those of us who miss Patch as a news Web site we do not like this change at all.
Joe Smith
12:49 pm on Friday, January 11, 2013
They should prosecute Penn State as a corrupt organzation and shut it down.