Pennsylvania Governor to Sue NCAA over PSU Sanctions

Tide1986

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Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett to Sue NCAA over Penn State Sanctions

A person associated with the university and knowledgeable about the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the lawsuit had not been filed, told The Associated Press that it is an antitrust action.
Will be interesting to see the arguments they make, especially considering PSU's voluntary membership in the NCAA, PSU's agreement with the sanctions, and the fact that PSU has already made a payment on their $60M fine.
 
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TideMan09

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The Governor should be thankful Penn St still has a football program & just leave well enough alone..This is a "can of worms" that doesn't need to be reopened..JMO
 

TIDE-HSV

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They have Tarkanian to overcome. That and the Tennessee case. I don't think they can do it. Their case is weaker than ours would have been. They essentially consented and now are trying to take it back...
 

Go Bama

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What does Penn St stand to lose? What risk are they taking?

I don't understand how the NCAA has the authority to fine a school $60 million. It punishes the state as well as the school.
 

BamaFanatJSU

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Penn St. essentially agreed to pay the $60 million. It's a "fine" in the loosest sense of the word. Penn St can leave the NCAA and do whatever it wants.
I understand your point, but let's take the NCAA for what it is: an unregulated monopoly. If this were the business world, the NCAA would be broken up just like Standard Oil or AT&T; however, there is no group providing oversight in this case.

Honestly, the NCAA forcing Penn State to pay $60 million is akin to Al Capone forcing Chicago businesses in the Twenties to pay racketeering "protection" fees. The NCAA can sit there and tell any school, "Fine, take your ball and go home" knowing full-well that no college football program has a choice in terms of membership and participation.

Let's face it: the NCAA is the definition of a corrupt, Gilded Age, Tammany Hall-esque insitution that treats some member institutions preferrentially. And any UA fan knows how that feels.
 

TIDE-HSV

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What does Penn St stand to lose? What risk are they taking?

I don't understand how the NCAA has the authority to fine a school $60 million. It punishes the state as well as the school.
Note that it's not PSU doing the suing. Without going back into all the details, a very dysfunctional situation existed on the PSU BOT at the time, being run from the top, with some BOT members not even being kept informed.There was a move by a minority of the board to bring suit, but they almost certainly would have been found to lack standing. So, in the end, basically PSU agreed to the fine because the alternatives were much worse, the NCAA (with FBI help) had so much dirt on them. The governor disagrees with that decision and is making a run at bypassing the BOT/President (actually former president, who resigned). I don't think he has much of a chance...
 

jthomas666

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It's a state school.
It's sort of a state school. Technically, it's a "state affiliated" school, which basically means that Penn State tries to have the best of both worlds. In some respects they claim to be a state-funded school, but at the same time, they use their position as quasi-private to keep their budgets secret.
 

Go Bama

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Note that it's not PSU doing the suing. Without going back into all the details, a very dysfunctional situation existed on the PSU BOT at the time, being run from the top, with some BOT members not even being kept informed.There was a move by a minority of the board to bring suit, but they almost certainly would have been found to lack standing. So, in the end, basically PSU agreed to the fine because the alternatives were much worse, the NCAA (with FBI help) had so much dirt on them. The governor disagrees with that decision and is making a run at bypassing the BOT/President (actually former president, who resigned). I don't think he has much of a chance...
Right. Still, I'd love to see someone challenge the NCAA.
 

selmaborntidefan

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They have Tarkanian to overcome. That and the Tennessee case. I don't think they can do it. Their case is weaker than ours would have been. They essentially consented and now are trying to take it back...
Can you elaborate on what you mean about Tarkanian? I vaguely recall something but nothing specific. I was young & occupied.
 

JDCrimson

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I wonder if the governor is going to try to make an argument that psu is a state actor since it is state funded and that such a fine from a private association against a state actor is illegal?
 

TIDE-HSV

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Can you elaborate on what you mean about Tarkanian? I vaguely recall something but nothing specific. I was young & occupied.
In Tarkanian, the SCOTUS ruled that the NCAA was a private association, entered into by institutions free willingly in agreement to follow its rules. That it was specifically not a "state actor" bound to afford due process under the 14th amendment. That's the Cliff Notes version. JD, I don't think it matters in the slightest whether PSU is a state actor or not. The NCAA is made up of a mix of state and private schools. The point is that they joined voluntarily. BTW, I think the present SCOTUS would come down even more firmly on the side of the Tarkanian ruling...
 

Crimson1967

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Is the governor of Pennsylvania head of the BOT due to his office? What is Bentley's status on the Alabama BOT?
 

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