The NCAA suffers another legal setback in its fight over money collected as part of the sanctions imposed on Penn State.
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has denied the NCAA’s request for a reargument of a previous court ruling.
At issue is the consent decree the NCAA and Penn State entered into in the wake of the child sexual abuse scandal involving former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky. The agreement included Penn State paying $60 million fine, which the NCAA would spend on prevention and awareness of child sexual abuse.
The state legislature later passed a bill that requires the NCAA to spend the money in Pennsylvania. State Sen. Jake Corman and state Treasurer Robert McCord filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in an attempt to force the organization to spend the $60 million in Pennsylvania. The NCAA has argued the state law is unconstitutional.
In April, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled the Endowment Act is constitutional. The ruling also seemed to call into question the validity of the consent decree as a whole.
The NCAA filed a motion last week asking the court to allow the NCAA make a reargument to address what seem to be inconsistencies related to whether indeed the validity of the consent decree is disputed in the eyes of the court.
The court denied the NCAA’s request Wednesday in a one-sentence order.
In last week’s the motion, the NCAA also criticized the court proceedings that have delayed the disbursement of funds.
“The funds at issue could have and still can make a difference in the countless children’s lives both inside and outside the commonwealth. As long as this lawsuit remains unresolved, however, the money sits idle and the countless good that could come from it remains unrealized. That is shameful,” the NCAA says.
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