Following the announcement of the Consent Decree entered by the NCAA and Penn State, it would short sided to believe there would be no challenge to the entry of the Consent Decree.  Relatively new Penn State trustee Ryan J. McCombie has hired counsel to appeal the Consent Decree and has requested “an opportunity to submit [an] appeal in writing, and further request an in-person oral argument before the Infractions Appeals Committee.”  Trustee McCombie is challenging the NCAA’s adoption of findings contained in the Freeh Report including that the Board of Trustees “did not perform its oversight duties” and every sanction imposed on Penn State.  Trustee McCombie pointed out the following errors:

1.            The consent decree is null and void since the President of Penn State lacked the legal authority to agree to the entry of the Consent Decree or waive any rights, because the Board of Trustees was not informed or consulted.

2.            The NCAA violated fundamental procedural due process rights by failing to follow its own rules and failing to conduct an investigation.

3.            The Consent Decree is fundamentally unfair because it is based on the Freeh Report, which contains findings and conclusions that are contrary to the evidence.  Further, the facts as found in the Freeh Report do not constitute violations of NCAA rules.

4.            The sanctions imposed are excessive and unreasonable, because the sanctions “miss the mark” and “inflict permanent damage to an entire generation of student-athletes and coaches who were innocent of any wrongdoing.”

For any questions, feel free to contact Christian Dennie at cdennie@bgsfirm.com.