BELLEFONTE, Pa. -- A jury in Centre County has decided in favor of former Penn State football coach Mike McQueary in his defamation and misrepresentation lawsuit against the university.
The jury awarded McQueary $7.3 million on Thursday, WPMT reports. The jury made up of nine women and three men, including two Penn State employees, decided that Penn State is guilty of defamation and misrepresentation.
McQueary sued the university for firing him in 2012. His lawyers argued he was wrongly terminated over his testimony which helped convict Jerry Sandusky on child sex charges in 2012. The former coach also says he was defamed by the university.
Penn State's defense team said McQueary was let go when his contract was up because the new football coach didn't want him on staff.
During Sandusky’s trial in 2012, McQueary was the only person to come forward and admit he saw Sandusky abusing a child.
McQueary’s lawsuit only asked for $4 million in damages, the amount he would have earned at Penn State if he continued as a football coach for the next 25 years.
“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.”
The jury’s decision on Thursday is only for the defamation claim. A judge will rule in the coming week’s whether his firing could be considered retaliation for his whistleblowing.
