Penn State scandal: NCAA sues Pennsylvania governor right back

The NCAA is filing a suit against Gov. Tom Corbett and several other Pennsylvania state officials to prevent a law that would require the NCAA from spending the $60 million they received in sanctions from Penn State in the state itself.

This suit -- not related to Corbett’s lawsuit against the NCAA, which contests the NCAA’s right to impose said sanctions, which SB Nation’s legal analyst broke down in January -- argues that the law is unconstitutional. States can’t make legislation that regulates interstate commerce, and the NCAA argues that by telling a private entity where they can spend their money, Pennsylvania is doing so.

So in case you’re having trouble figuring out who’s penalizing who:

1. The NCAA fined Penn State $60 million and stripped them of 20 football scholarships and postseason eligibility;

2. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, represented by Gov. Tom Corbett, sued the NCAA, saying in an anti-trust filing that those sanctions hurt the economic well-being of the state, on grounds that the fines were outside of the NCAA’s by-laws;

3. Pennsylvania passed a law saying that the $60 million in sanctions could only be spent in Pennsylvania

4..The NCAA filed to have Corbett’s suit dismissed;

5. Thus, the NCAA saying the law passed by the Pennsylvania legislature was unconstitutional.

Got it? Good. What are the odds the legal fees here end up passing $60 million?

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