On January 2, Gov. Tom Corbett filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania regarding the strict sanctions that the association imposed against Penn State University and its football program in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal.
The suit alleges that the NCAA was “overreaching and unlawful” in how it punished the university, and that it broke antitrust laws and harmed residents in the process. Dr. Ellen Staurowsky, a professor of sport management in Drexel’s Goodwin College of Professional Studies, is available to speak with the news media about whether or not the case has grounds.
Staurowsky believes that the NCAA’s sanctions were excessive. According to Staurowsky, “The NCAA overreached and really ought to have had the courts handle this case. There was no NCAA rule that was violated. Within their rule structure, there was no violation of athlete eligibility or under the table payments. So if the wrongdoing [in the Sandusky case] did not fall under the purview of the NCAA, then why did they sanction? That is what this case is challenging.”
Staurowsky is internationally recognized as an expert on social justice issues in sport which include gender equity and Title IX, pay equity and equal employment opportunity, the exploitation of athletes, the faculty role in reforming college sport, representation of women in sport media, and the misappropriation of American Indian imagery in sport. She is co-author of the book, College Athletes for Hire: The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA Amateur Myth.