Penn State Appeals $7.3 Million Whistleblower Verdict
By Paul Smith
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (CNN) -- Pennsylvania State University filed a motion for post-trial relief, seeking to overturn the verdict and $7.3 million awarded to former assistant football coach Mike McQueary. On October 27th, a jury decided that Penn State is guilty of defamation and misrepresentation in regards to McQueary coming forward with information when he saw Jerry Sandusky sexually abuse a young boy in a Penn State locker room shower.
In the motion, the school says McQueary failed to prove the university defamed him after his testimony led to prosecutors charging long time Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky with child molestation.
McQueary's grand jury testimony also led to the indictments of former Penn State administrators Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.
"What Penn State has done to Mike McQueary is absolutely outrageous," McQueary's attorney Elliot Strokoff told the jury. "Not investigating but then telling him it was investigated? It's outrageous and should never ever be able to happen again."
Strokoff seemed to indicate he wanted the jury to send a message to other universities to deter them from incidents like this in the future.
Penn State claims in its defense that McQueary's reputation was harmed not by their decisions to release a statement in support of Curley and Schultz, nor the school's decision to put him on administrative leave just days after his name became public. Instead, Penn State attorney Nancy Conrad told the jury it was national media and public opinion which resulted from McQueary's own decisions which led to his downfall.
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