STATE COLLEGE,
Pa. (AP) -- The NCAA overstepped its authority by imposing hefty
sanctions on Penn State University in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky
child molestation scandal, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday
in announcing a federal lawsuit against the college athletics governing
body.
Corbett said the university and the
state have been harmed by what he called "harsh penalties" over the
abuse committed by Sandusky, a former assistant football coach. The NCAA
"piled on" and acted unlawfully because it stands to benefit from the
sanctions, he said.
"A handful of top NCAA
officials simply asserted themselves into an issue they had no authority
to police under their own bylaws, and one that was clearly being
handled by the justice system," Corbett said at a news conference.
The
governor did not release a draft of the complaint, which was expected
to be filed Wednesday afternoon in Harrisburg federal court. It will
seek to overturn all the penalties to which the university's president
agreed in July.
The university has agreed to
pay a $60 million fine for child abuse prevention grants and to endure a
four-year bowl game ban for the university's football program, a loss
of footballs scholarships and other penalties. When the deal was
announced, Corbett - also a member of the university's board of trustees
- said he wanted assurance tax money would not go toward the fine, and
added that part of the "corrective process is to accept the serious
penalties."
Corbett said he waited until now
to file the lawsuit because he wanted to thoroughly research the legal
issues and did not want it to interfere with football season.
When
the sanctions were announced, Corbett expressed relief that Penn State
had escaped the "death penalty" that would have dismantled the football
program for a season or more. He later expressed a desire to keep the
$60 million in fines within Pennsylvania.
The
NCAA agreement has been unpopular with a significant portion of the
university community, but Corbett, who is up for re-election next year,
deflected a question about whether his handling has helped or hurt him
politically.
"We're not going to get into the
politics of this," he said. An outside law firm was being retained to
handle the matter, but Corbett's general counsel did not provide an
estimate of cost.
"Any of the costs associated
with this ... pale in comparison" with the losses people have already
suffered, said Corbett's top legal adviser, James Schultz.
Corbett,
a Republican, said his office did not coordinate its legal strategy
with state Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, who is scheduled to be
sworn in Jan. 15. Instead, the current attorney general, Linda Kelly,
agreed to grant the governor authority to pursue the matter.
Kane,
a Democrat, ran on a vow to investigate why it took state prosecutors
nearly three years to charge Sandusky, an assistant under longtime
football coach Joe Paterno. Corbett was the attorney general when that
office took over the case in early 2009 and until he became governor in
January 2011. Schultz said he would talk with Kane about the lawsuit
later Wednesday.
The late football coach's
family released a statement Wednesday saying they were encouraged by the
lawsuit. Corbett "now realizes, as do many others, that there was an
inexcusable rush to judgment" in the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal,
the statement said.
State and congressional
lawmakers from Pennsylvania have objected to using the NCAA's fine to
finance activities in other states. Penn State has already made the
first $12 million payment, and an NCAA task force is deciding how it
should be spent.
The NCAA, which has declined
to comment on the planned lawsuit, has said at least a quarter of the
money would be spent in Pennsylvania.
Republican U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent called that "unacceptable and unsatisfactory."
Last
week, state Sen. Jake Corman, a Republican whose district includes Penn
State's main campus, said he plans to seek court action barring any of
the first $12 million from being released to groups outside the state.
Sandusky,
68, was convicted in June on charges he sexually abused 10 boys, some
on Penn State's campus. He's serving a 30- to 60-year state prison term.
Eight
young men testified against him, describing a range of abuse they said
went from grooming and manipulation to fondling, oral sex and anal rape
when they were boys.
Sandusky has maintained his innocence, acknowledging he showered with boys but insisting he never molested them.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
