The surviving family of longtime Penn State head football coach Joe Paterno, along with several former Penn State football players and members of the university board of trustees have sued the NCAA over sanctions imposed because of the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas and came amid speculation that the Paterno family would take legal action to challenge a consent decree Penn State agreed to in order to avoid the so-called "death penalty" a complete ban from a school’s participation in a given sport for a given time. The plaintiffs argue the National Collegiate Athletic Association coerced the university to agree to the consent decree, improperly used the findings of the Freeh report against the school’s football program, a report the lawsuit said was flawed to begin with, and tarnished the reputation of Paterno, his son, Jay Paterno, and others in the Penn State football and university community.
