By Kevin Zwick
Staff Reporter
Capitolwire
HARRISBURG (Oct. 15) – A state judge is ordering more than a dozen top NCAA officials to appear for depositions in ongoing legal proceedings testing the validity of the consent decree the organization imposed on Penn State.
Fourteen NCAA officials, including NCAA President Mark Emmert, are called on to appear to give testimony in the case, according to an order filed by Commonwealth Court Judge Anne Covey.
The judge earlier this year questioned the validity of the consent decree against Penn State. The two organizations agreed to the penalties outlined in the decree, including a $60 million fine, a ban on bowl games and reduced scholarships for the football program.
The penalties were levied after the NCAA said Penn State officials failed to handle child molestation claims involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Covey also said Wednesday that any information obtained during the so-called discovery process will not be granted levels of confidentiality,as requested by Penn State and NCAA recently.
The request for confidentiality by the NCAA and Penn State was essentially too broad, Covey said in an order and memo. Representatives of the NCAA and A Penn State spokesman said the university had no comment.
Penn State and the NCAA, which joined in the university’s request, asked the court adopt identical terms of confidentiality currently used in a federal court case between the NCAA and estate of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno.
Covey said “that case involved different parties seeking different relief.” The protective order was requested in that case also in part because there was the potential for jury trial, which Covey said was “not present” in the state lawsuit.
Her order is yet another twist in an ongoing lawsuit brought by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman, R-Centre, and state Treasurer Rob McCord against the NCAA.
In early 2013, the two state officials sued to control a $60 million fine, which was part of a larger package of sanctions outlined in a 2012 consent decree with Penn State that included penalties against the football program.
In a ruling earlier this year, Covey questioned the validity of the consent decree, which led to the ongoing legal issues with the case.
Sandusky is serving 30-60 years in prison for dozens of convictions that he raped young boys.
NEWSLANC EDITOR: If this case goes to trial, it will be fascinating to see just how much influence Gov. Tom Corbett had on the negotiations between Penn State and the NCAA. Corbett led the firing of Coach Joe Paterno while Paterno was dying.
