Ahh, the strategy of taking action late on a Friday, ahead of a holiday weekend no less, in hopes of avoiding a ton of media attention is here again.
Late this afternoon, the NCAA released a statement announcing the Paterno family dropped its lawsuit against the governing body of intercollegiate athletics and made it a point to note the voluntary dismissal was not triggered by a settlement of any kind.
The statement reads:
The estate of the late Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, his son Jay Paterno, and Bill Kenney today voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the NCAA. The NCAA did not settle the case and provided plaintiffs with no consideration--financial or otherwise.
"The Paterno family characterized this case as a 'search for the truth,'" said Donald Remy, NCAA chief legal officer. "Its decision today, after years of investigation and discovery, to abandon its lawsuit rather than subject those facts to courtroom examination is telling.
"We believe that the powerful record developed during discovery overwhelmingly confirmed what the NCAA has believed all along: the NCAA acted reasonably in adopting the conclusions of an eight-month investigation by Louis Freeh."
Remy noted the timing of today's decision by the Paterno family to voluntarily abandon its lawsuit was only hours before the NCAA was due to file a roughly 100-page summary judgment brief detailing the results of years of exhaustive discovery regarding plaintiffs' claims. He added the decision "represents a total victory for the NCAA."
The Paterno family filed the suit back in 2013 with plenty of gusto in hopes of separating Joe Pa's actions with those of others who helped cover up the despicable acts of Jerry Sandusky who was eventually convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse in 2012.
Former Penn State president Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz were all sentenced to minimal jail time earlier this month for their own failures to protect children from a monster.
Sandusky is serving a 60-year sentence.
