NCAA Willing To Keep Consent Decree Fine Money In Pennsylvania
The NCAA has asked Commonwealth judge Anne Covey to dismiss its lawsuit with the state of Pennsylvania over where the NCAA’s $60 million fine should stay, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed by State Senator Jake Corman and Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord, and the NCAA asked for its dismissal late Friday. The NCAA said that if Covey agrees, it will move to end its federal lawsuit against McCord, Gov. Tom Corbett, and the Commonwealth, which challenged the legality of a 2013 state law that required the fine money to stay in the state stemming from the infamous consent decree following the Sandusky Scandal.
Here’s the NCAA’s statement on its move:
Here’s the NCAA’s statement on why its ending challenge of Pa. act that keeps $60M fine of #PennState in Pa. pic.twitter.com/DpjecpN1Zo
— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) September 8, 2014
This does not mean the end of the consent decree, though. Both Corman and McCord told Covey that they still want to litigate the overall consent decree, but acknowledged that it might not be feasible under state law, according to papers filed to the court.
“I would like to have aired out the consent decree,” Corman said to the AP. “Unfortunately it was clear the NCAA did not — that’s why they gave up on this case.”
With the money being kept in the state, Corman believes that it will be available to victims of child sexual abuse sooner. Corman spoke out against the NCAA’s perceived jurisdiction in this case.
“We proved that that’s not the case,” Corman said. “They overstepped their bounds, coming in and taking money from a public university to use as they see fit.”
The news comes on the same day that George Mitchell’s second annual athletics integrity report is reportedly due. Last year, Mitchell’s report formed the basis of Penn State’s sanction reduction after the former U.S. Senator sat down with the NCAA. We will update as the day goes on.
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