Federal Judge Rejects Amended Complaint in Ohio State Sexual Assault Case

A federal judge overseeing a sexual assault lawsuit against The Ohio State University (OSU) has denied the plaintiffs’ motion to amend the complaint for the time being, stating that the parties need to focus on mediation.

Hundreds of former athletes and others have filed lawsuits against OSU, alleging that university doctor Richard Strauss, now deceased, sexually abused or assaulted them. In May 2019, law firm Perkins Coie LLP released an investigative report concluding that Strauss sexually abused at least 177 men during his tenure at …

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Sandusky Scandal: NCAA Rebuts Claims Answer was Insufficient

The NCAA is currently playing defense in a lawsuit brought by the estate of the late Joe Paterno, former head coach of Penn State University’s football team. The lawsuit alleges that the NCAA failed to adequately deny defamation, along with other claims in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.

The estate now argues that the NCAA’s answer failed to include sufficiently specific denials of the estate’s allegations, thus the estate should be granted final judgment. The NCAA responded, claiming that “[d]espite …

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Court Nixes NCAA-PSU’s Attempt to Dismiss Lawsuit over $60M Fine

A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court denied the NCAA’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by state Senator Jake Corman and Treasurer Rob McCord.  The suit is seeking to enforce the 2012 Higher Education Monetary Penalty Endowment Act (the “Act”) on the $60 million fine imposed on Penn State (“PSU”).  In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, the NCAA in 2012 imposed the penalty as part of a consent decree.  Under the Act, the NCAA fine must be used to prevent child sexual abuse …

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NCAA to Gradually Restore Penn State’s Football Scholarships

The NCAA announced this week that it will reduce the unprecedented sanctions against Penn State’s football program by gradually restoring scholarships starting next season. Modifications to other sanctions, such as reducing the four-year postseason ban, may be on the horizon but were not announced.

We all remember when the crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky were splashed on the front pages of newspapers, and when the case involving the notorious former Penn State assistant coach was the focus of every news channel for months. After Sandusky …

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Latest Mitchell Quarterly Report Continues Praise of Penn State’s Progress Post-Sandusky Scandal

Penn State is apparently continuing to make steady progress in moving past the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Last week, former Senator George Mitchell, the third-party independent athletics integrity monitor, issued a third quarterly report (which can be found at by clicking here.) stating that University officials have given his team nothing but “full cooperation” as the institution works to implement various reforms after sanctions were imposed on Penn State stemming from the Sandusky scandal. Like Mitchell’s two prior reports, his third quarterly …

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