(Sports Network) - Lawyers on behalf of the Joe Paterno family sent an
official appeal letter to the NCAA asking for a 30-day window in which to file
a written response relating to the sanctions levied against the Penn State
football team.
Penn State was hit with a four-year postseason ban, $60 million fine, five
years probation and a vacation of all wins dating to 1998 last month in the
wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.
The university was punished for its collective failure to report Sandusky, a
former assistant under Paterno. Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sexual
abuse against 10 boys over a 15-year period.
"As will become evident in a thorough and impartial review, the NCAA acted
hastily and without any regard for due process," the letter, published by
Onward State, reads. "Furthermore, the NCAA and Penn State's Board Chair and
President entirely ignored the fact that the Freeh Report, on which these
extraordinary penalties are based, is deeply flawed because it is incomplete,
rife with unsupported opinions and unquestionably one-sided."
The Paterno family is unhappy with the results of former FBI director Louis
Freeh's investigation, which accused Paterno and other Penn State senior
officials of concealing critical facts relating to Sandusky's child sex-abuse
case.
"If there is culpabability in this case, a hearing will help expose it," the
letter said. "Due process will not hide the truth and will only illuminate the
facts and allow for thoughtful, substantiated conclusions, not extreme and
unfounded opinions, such as those offered in the Freeh Report and relied upon
by the NCAA."
The Sports Network