Here is the statement:
"The release of the Freeh report has triggered an avalanche of vitriol, condemnation and posthumous punishment on Joe Paterno. The NCAA has now become the latest party to accept the report as the final word on the Sandusky scandal. The sanctions announced by the NCAA today defame the legacy and contributions of a great coach and educator without any input from our family or those who knew him best.
"That the President, the Athletic Director and the Board of Trustees accepted this unprecedented action by the NCAA without requiring a full due process hearing before the Committee on Infractions is an abdication of their responsibilities and a breach of their fiduciary duties to the University and the 500,000 alumni. Punishing past, present and future students of the University because of Sanduskys crimes does not serve justice. This is not a fair or thoughtful action; it is a panicked response to the public's understandable revulsion at what Sandusky did.
"The point of due process is to protect against this sort of reflexive action. Joe Paterno was never interviewed by the University or the Freeh Group. His counsel has not been able to interview key witnesses as they are represented by counsel related to ongoing litigation. We have had no access to the records reviewed by the Freeh group. The NCAA never contacted our family or our legal counsel. And the fact that several parties have pending trials that could produce evidence and testimony relevant to this matter has been totally discounted.
"Unfortunately all of these facts have been ignored by the NCAA, the Freeh Group and the University."
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/in..._family_says_ncaa_s.html#incart_river_default
My comment:
The President and Board run PSU, not the Paterno family. It is PSU, and not the Paterno family or Joe Paterno, that is being punished. It is PSU that gets to accept or challenge the punishment, not the Paterno family. It is PSU who made the decision to investigate, not the Paterno family. Based on that conclusions in that report, it is PSU who makes the decision not to challenge.
If the Paterno family wants to have a thorough investigation, they a perfectly free to finance one. If it is well researched, unbiased, and reaches a different conclusion, they are free to send it to the board. They have had six months to begin that process and, so far, they have not.