Eric Adelson
Yahoo! Expert
Penn State could pay $100 million in civil damages to Sandusky's victims and lose public funding
Fri, Jul 13, 2012 11:58 AM EDT
Penn State supporters likely felt the university hit rock bottom Thursday with the release of the Freeh Report, with its damning litany of evidence that school leaders ignored and concealed horrific crimes against children.
But the cost to Penn State could be more severe than anyone imagined. The university could eventually fork out more than $100 million to victims of Jerry Sandusky's child molestation, experts say.
Although the Freeh Report is not a legal document, its findings following the conviction of Sandusky, a former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, on 45 counts of child molestation would make any civil trial difficult for the school to win. Penn State already has encouraged victims to come forward and settle, but now the victims will be encouraged (and many will say justified) to come forward asking for millions of dollars.
"Penn State could get clobbered," said Norm Pattis, a leading trial lawyer based in Connecticut who specializes in civil suits. "The plaintiff's theory is not just that people were injured but that lives were ruined. It's not uncommon to see behavioral problems. I think the damage claims could be very significant."
How significant?
"Five million apiece is a conservative estimate," Pattis said. "If I had one of these plaintiffs, I'd hold out for a $10 million settlement and it would take a lot of work to get me to do less."
Some experts feel that number is excessive, that six-figure settlements are more likely. "Somebody said $10 million per victim," said legal expert Michael McCann, director of the Sports Law Institute and professor of law at Vermont Law School and a contributor for Sports Illustrated. "No, I don't see where that number is from. When somebody dies, it's not that high."
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"They could lose federal funding," said one attorney in the counsel's office of a major university, who requested anonymity. "It will bury the institution. There will be no university without financial aid."
Is Penn State in jeopardy of surviving as an institution? Most experts say no. But there is a price to pay for a total failure of leadership at one of the nation's top universities. And that price will be enormous.
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Dan Wetzel
Yahoo! Expert
Graham Spanier, disgraced ex-Penn State president, epitomized NCAA hypocrisy
There is one instance in the Freeh Commission report where Graham Spanier, the disgraced former Penn State president, said enough is enough. One instance when he slammed down his authoritative fist to protect the welfare of his charges and the reputation of his institution.
It wasn't against Jerry Sandusky, of course.
It was December 1997 and Spanier was soon to learn that the longtime Penn State defensive coordinator had been accused of molesting a young boy while showering with him in the Penn State locker room, according to the Freeh report. But Spanier wouldn't stand up to old Jer, because that wouldn't be the "humane" way of handling it. Or so he wrote in an email.
No, Sandusky got to keep fondling right under Spanier's nose for years to come.
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