Penn State continues to put themselves in a negative light as it was announced Tuesday that four members of the board of trustees have hired lawyers and will appeal the NCAA’s sanctions brought on the University stemming from the Jerry Sandusky child rape coverup.
Here are the grounds of the appeal according to these four trustee members…
- They claim the PSU president did not have authority to agree to the consent decree.
- The NCAA violated purported “due process rights” in this case.
- The Freeh Report is invalid and, in places where it may not be invalid, does not violate NCAA bylaws.
- They believe the sanctions are excessive, unreasonable and harm those not involved.
Former longtime head coach Joe Paterno’s family is filing a similar appeal after the NCAA stripped the now deceased coach of his wins dropping him from the atop all-time mark. At this point it’s clear that Paterno and certain members of the board were a match made in heaven considering both seem to of had their priorities totally out of wack to say the least.
Now given these claims by the board members it seems like they’ll be doing nothing but wasting everyone’s time and again continuing to make the University look like it only employs scumbags.
First what seems odd is if the President of Penn State didn’t have the authority to agree to the consent of the decree then why did the President himself believe he had the power to do this, the NCAA and even the board itself? Hell the board even expressed support for Erickson’s actions after reviewing the claims themselves.
Second, the NCAA is an organization in which members or schools join voluntarily. No due process exists or should exists if the NCAA itself doesn’t feel it’s necessary.
Third, the Freeh report wasn’t a legally binding document, it was a report commissioned by the University and approved by the University’s President as well as the board itself.
Finally the sanctions are harsh but hardly excessive and/or unreasonable. Not to mention the NCAA punishments often affect those who weren’t involved. See Reggie Bush and the USC football team.
