Paterno family will drop claims against Penn State, university agrees to pay ‘certain’ expenses
Penn State reconciled Friday with the family of former football coach Joe Paterno after nearly one decade of tortuous relations in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Penn State’s board of trustees Chair Mark Dambly announced Friday that the university and Paterno family resolved any “outstanding issues” stemming from the 2011 Sandusky scandal.
The Paternos will drop all claims against Penn State and the university will cover some of the Paterno family’s expenses, Dambly said in a prepared statement later released by Penn State.
Jay Paterno, Joe’s son, filed several lawsuits against the university that claimed his reputation was damaged.
No information is available yet on the financial sum or type of expenses Penn State has agreed to provide. A Penn State spokesperson said the university has no further comment beyond Dambly’s statement.
“Many differing reports and statements have been issued with respect to the events that have unfolded at Penn State over the last decade,” Dambly wrote. “Many of those reports and statements, including the Freeh Report, contain opinions about individuals and matters that are not shared by the university.”
As part of the agreement, Sue Paterno said in a statement, the family will not pursue or support “public or private advocacy efforts to revisit the past, through further review or release of the discredited Freeh report, Freeh’s materials, or otherwise.”
Dambly said that the university is “pleased” with the settlement.
The NCAA levied sanctions on Penn State’s football program in July 2012, including a four-year bowl ban, a $60 million fine to fund anti-child abuse efforts, the revocation of 112 wins, erasure of Paterno’s status as the coach with the most wins and a temporary reduction in football scholarships.
Some of those sanctions ended in 2015 after the NCAA settled a lawsuit with Penn State to restore Paterno’s wins and his winning coach status, though the $60 million fine remained, the CDT reported.
“Unfortunately, the Freeh Report served as the basis for the NCAA’s consent decree, which was a major reason why we sued the NCAA,” Sue Paterno wrote in her statement. “The dissolution of the consent decree between Penn State and the NCAA in 2015, along with the understanding today brings this matter to an end for us.”
The university and the Paternos were divided for years after Penn State fired the Hall of Fame coach in 2011. The family long argued Paterno was unfairly scapegoated while supporters attempted to restore his tarnished reputation.
He died of lung cancer in January 2012. His statue outside Beaver Stadium was removed six months later.
Dambly’s statement said the university does not share some of the “opinions about individuals and matters” contained in the Freeh report. Penn State’s response, he said, has always been to improve university policies and procedures relating to child protection, compliance, governance and safety.
“In implementing more than one hundred recommendations, we have become a stronger institution,” he said. “The victims of Jerry Sandusky’s abuse suffered extraordinary harm that cannot be undone. But, as an institution, and as individuals, we can ensure that we never forget the victims of abusive behavior. Our commitment to these reforms will never waver.”
The university “takes great pride” in Joe Paterno’s contributions to the football team and the university’s academics, Dambly wrote. Sue’s devotion to her husband “remains an inspiration to all of us,” Dambly wrote.
“A mutual resolution seldom satisfies everyone. The multiple wounds from this tragic period will take a long time to heal but we must begin now,” Sue Paterno wrote. “Victims of abuse suffered extraordinary harm from one individual, and everyone associated with the Penn State community has suffered as well. We can’t undo past crimes, but we can never forget the victims of such abusive behavior.”
The Freeh report released by former FBI director Louis Freeh in July 2012 found Paterno and the university’s most senior leaders had a “total and consistent” disregard for the safety and welfare of those abused by Sandusky.
The report criticized the university’s board of trustees for not performing its oversight duties and said the university’s most powerful leaders repeatedly concealed Sandusky’s abuse to uphold the football team’s revered culture.
A number of Penn State alumni-elected trustees, some of whom are longtime supporters of Joe Paterno, released a report last February challenging the Freeh report’s conclusions that Paterno knew about the abuse.
“Success with honor is more than just a saying; it is a mindset that encompasses all that we do as Penn Staters,” Sue Paterno wrote. “Joe and I never believed that this philosophy was exclusive to football or athletics. It was and remains the guiding principle of our service to the university.”
She added: “I love Penn State with all my heart. ... With this resolution I look forward to continuing my relationship with the university I love. I call on all Penn Staters everywhere to join me in closing this chapter so that we can help our university better fulfill its mission.”
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 3:34 PM.
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