Dive Brief:
- A Pennsylvania court has upheld a state law that would require a $60-million fine levied against Penn State by the NCAA following the Jerry Sandusky scandal to be paid into a state fund.
- The Commonwealth Court stopped short of ordering the NCAA to fork over the money immediately, saying that it needed more time to hear arguments in the case.
- The court ruling on Wednesday also questioned whether the NCAA was legally justified in handing down the fine, considering that it was about a criminal action against a non-university official, Sandusky, and children who were not student athletes.
Dive Insight:
The court ruling was part of a lawsuit filed by a state senator and Pennsylvania’s treasurer to force the NCAA to pay the fine money into a state treasury fund for combating child sex abuse. The fund was set up by a state law last year. According to PennLive.com, the court’s criticism of the NCAA doesn’t bode well for the college athletics governing body and its controversial fine. The court also ruled that Penn State must join the lawsuit.