Lawyers representing Joe Paterno’s family have sent a letter to the NCAA appealing the governing body’s sanctions against Penn State football, and specifically the appearance of Paterno’s name as a responsible party in the Freeh Report. The NCAA used the Freeh Report as its entire Penn State investigation.
Joe Paterno’s Family Files Appeal With NCAA Over Sanctions
Onward State has the letter, and, well, the Paterno family is certainly right about at least one thing (even though nobody’s ever heard of a former coach’s family personally appealing NCAA sanctions):
As will become evident in a thorough and impartial review, the NCAA acted hastily and without any regard for due process. Furthermore, the NCAA and Penn State’s Board Chair and President entirely ignored the fact that the Freeh Report, on which these extraordinary penalties are based, is deeply flawed because it is incomplete, rife with unsupported opinions and unquestionably one-sided. The NCAA and Penn State’s leadership, by accepting and adopting the conclusions of the Freeh report, have maligned all of the above without soliciting contrary opinions or challenging a single finding of the Freeh report. Given the extraordinary penalty handed out, prudence and justice require that scrupulous adherence to due process be observed and not completely ignored.
Whatever opinion one might have of the Freeh Report, it’s hard to ignore that the NCAA sidestepped everything about due process that makes due process critical. I’m as tired of reading Paterno family declarations as you are, but they’re absolutely correct there.
For more on Nittany Lions football, visit Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire, SB Nation Pittsburgh and SB Nation Philly.
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