Paterno family files appeal against NCAA

Aug 3, 2012 - 10:23 PM (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."