Press Release: Upon Further Review, San Diego, January 11, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UPON FURTHER REVIEW:  PENN STATE TWO YEARS LATER

TO EXAMINE FREEH REPORT, NCAA SANCTIONS AND THE LEGACY OF JOE PATERNO

Town hall meeting January 11th to be held in San Diego at the Hilton Bayfront to provide the latest information prior to the NCAA Annual Convention

San Diego, CA, January 6, 2014: Franco Harris, NFL Hall of Fame running back from the Pittsburgh Steelers and former Penn State University running back, will host Upon Further Review:  Penn State Two Years Later, a town hall meeting focused on an analytical examination of the Freeh Report, sanctions by the NCAA on the University’s football program, the University’s Crisis Management, the Mainstream Media’s reaction and the impact on the legacy of former head football coach Joe Paterno and the Penn State football program.

The meeting will be held Saturday, January 11th, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel, located at 1 Park Boulevard San Diego, California, and is free and open to the public.  Doors will open at 10 a.m. and attendees are encouraged to arrive early to ensure seating which is on a first-come, first-served basis.  Additionally, the event will be streamed live on the Internet.

“From the charges of the Freeh Report to the sanctions of the NCAA and the decisions of the Penn State Board of Trustees, the ongoing debate over Coach Paterno has had a dramatic effect on Joe’s legacy and the Penn State football program,” said Harris.  “I’m eager to host a panel of experts to give the audience the latest information on the situation."   

Harris has consistently defended Paterno, telling various news outlets that it was wrong of the PSU Board of Trustees to fire the long-time head football coach and to turn its back on the University.

“After reading the Freeh Report and absorbing all the facts in the last 2 years, I feel even more strongly about Joe and about his non-involvement in any type of cover up,” said Harris.  “There was no cover-up by the athletic department or the football program. No way would Joe ever cover-up anything like this, and there’s no way Joe would protect Sandusky to protect the football program.”

This view was recently corroborated by Frank Fina, the Sandusky Prosecuting Attorney, who came out on “60 Minutes Sports” saying that his investigation found no evidence that Joe Paterno was involved in any sort of cover-up. 

Upon Further Review will include presentations and discussions from the following experts:

John U. Bacon, author of “Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football

Ryan Bagwell, head of The Penn State Sunshine Fund aimed at increasing transparency of the Penn State Board of Trusteee

Ray Blehar, a 28-year member of the U.S. intelligence community responsible for analyzing and evaluating information to determine its validity and impact and a key leader of http://notpsu.blogspot.com and http://sanduskyreports.com, two leading sources of facts in the overall Sandusky scandal

Steven Fink, author of “Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable”

Anthony Lubrano, President of A.P. Lubrano & Company and a current member of the PSU Board of Trustees 

Eileen Morgan, a Professional Analyst and author of "Critical Analysis of the Freeh Report"

John Ziegler, Writer and National Radio Talk Show Host and the leader of http://www.framingpaterno.com

The combination of these experts will help the audience to better understand the sequence of events, providing new information, and shedding new light on the Sandusky matter and the impact on the outcomes that were decided by the PSU Board of Trustees and the NCAA.

“The ‘facts’ provided by Louis Freeh were not debated and, as a result, the NCAA used the Freeh Report to levy some serious penalties against the Penn State football program,” said Harris. “Freeh continues to come under fire for other ‘investigations’ he has completed and his unsubstantiated opinions.  At the same time Bob Costas has come out saying the situation dictates further review.  So much has developed in the last 2 years that certainly requires a further examination”. 

The NCAA comes to San Diego the following week for their annual convention, so this event provides much needed information to aid the public and the media in questioning the NCAA’s actions.

An audience participatory segment will conclude the 2½ hour session with members of the community asking questions and offering their opinions.

Harris hopes to keep the topic alive while due process takes its course across several arenas: three Penn State Administrators trials, a suit against the NCAA and two other in-depth investigations by the FBI and current Pennsylvania Attorney General.

“The Board of Trustees has made poor decisions every step of the way,” he said.  “Not once have they stood up for Penn State University.”