SCRANTON -- When Governor Tom Corbett announced his lawsuit, he said the NCAA sanctions against Penn State have no legal ground to stand on.
"A handful of top NCAA officials simply inserted themselves into an issue they had no authority to police under their own by-laws," said Gov. Corbett.
Attorney Bruce Zero of Scranton is a Penn State alumnus and says the governor's anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA has some merit. Zero says Corbett will need to prove that taking away bowl games for four years, limiting football scholarships, taking away football wins, and a $60 million fine are all causing unfair economic implications.
"That hurts the ability of the university as a whole to recruit faculty, to get students that aren't even involved in the football program to go there. So the economic implications are so large that would be the basis of an anti-trust violation," said Zero.
That's exactly what the governor says is happening.
"They punished the past, the present and the future students, current and former student athletes, local businesses, and the citizens of Pennsylvania," said Gov. Corbett.
Attorney Zero says this lawsuit has a fair chance of winning in the court system, but there will be hurdles for the state to overcome.
"Major obstacles, Penn State is a member of the NCAA and is subject to their rules, that’s number one. Number two, the president of the university agreed to the sanctions. Two major obstacles, so I’d say fair," said Attorney Zero.
Penn State and its students, businesses and community members now wait, as the issue so many are working to put in the past heads once again to court.