Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/260491
T H E M O N T H I N . . . [Terry] Smith sees Penn State "still in the process of healing" from the Sandusky scandal, and he feels strongly about the role football can serve. "Over the course of history, Penn State foot- ball helped build this university and build the mystique of Penn State," he said. "When I was a high school coach, I was a big teacher of history – where you come from. Here at Penn State, we obviously have a lot of history and a proud tradition. I help to represent that history." Beginning today, he'll start adding a new future to that history, and it's difficult to imagine that James Franklin could have made a better choice. NEIL RUDEL ALTOONA MIRROR OPINIONS It's a good thing I wasn't in the weight room today when Jay Z stopped by because a freestyle throw down mosdef would have oc- curred. @COACHHAND (HERB HAND) TWEETS JURISPRUDENCE Paternos name PSU as 'nominal defendant' Claiming that Penn State had breached its contract, the Paterno family's attorney, Wick Sollers, announced Feb. 5 that the university had been named a "nominal defendant" in the family's lawsuit against the NCAA. John Leete, the presiding judge, stated in October that the count of breach of contract could not be held un- less the university was considered a par- ticipant. As a result, the plaintiffs – a group that includes the immediate family of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, four university trustees and a former assistant – modified their lawsuit in order to sue the university. However, Sollers told the Centre Daily Times that the family is not seeking monetary damages. "Nor do we ask that the court order Penn State to take any action," he said. "We ask only for a dec- laration that the plaintiffs have rights under the NCAA rules that were violat- ed, and that the consent decree imposed by the NCAA is null and void." The university said in an official state- ment that it was "deeply disappointed" by the modification of the lawsuit and asked trustee plaintiffs – Alvin Clemens, Anthony Lubrano, Ryan Mc- Combie and Adam Taliaferro – to recant their involvement, stating they were not authorized to "bring claims on behalf of the university." "Due to concerns with serious con- flicts of interest that already exist, board leadership urged the trustee plaintiffs to end their involvement in the lawsuit," the university's statement said. "Instead, these conflicts of interest and the harm to the university have been made worse by the actions of the four trustee plain- tiffs and others in seeking to force the university to be a party in this litigation." The Paterno family also expanded on claims that former quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and former offensive line coach Bill Kenney were unable secure employment due to the NCAA's decision to penalize Penn State. ■