JURIST - Paper Chase: NCAA sues Pennsylvania governor in federal court over PSU fines

[JURIST] The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) [official website] filed a lawsuit [text, PDF] in US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania [official website] on Wednesday against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett [official website] and other state officials. The NCAA lawsuit seeks to stop the Commonwealth from keeping for its own uses the $60 million in fines levied against Pennsylvania State University (PSU) [official website] as a result of the recent child sexual abuse scandal at the university. Pennsylvania enacted the Institution of Higher Education Consent Decree Endowment Act [text] in order to keep the funds. Corbett signed the legislation [Patriot News report] into law this week. The NCAA seeks to enjoin enforcement of the act on the grounds that it attempts to "legislate where private parties spend their money, and to confiscate funds intended for victims of child sexual abuse nationwide to be used solely for the benefit of Pennsylvania residents, at the direction of Pennsylvania officials." The NCAA imposed sanctions [text] on PSU in July following the Jerry Sandusky [NY Times profile] child abuse scandal.

The filing of the NCAA lawsuit is merely the latest in the ongoing dispute between Corbett and the NCAA over the sanctions imposed on PSU. Last month Corbett filed a lawsuit [NY Times report] against the NCAA in federal court on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania for the "overreaching and unlawful" sanctions imposed on PSU. The NCAA filed a motion to dismiss [Patriot News report] Governor Corbett's lawsuit on the grounds that he lacks standing to challenge the sanctions, which PSU voluntarily accepted.