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Testimony Continues in McQueary Case Against Penn State
by Geoff Rushton on October 17, 2016 6:19 PM
Mike McQueary leaves the Centre County Courthouse Annex following the first day of trial in his civil suit against Penn State. Photo: Geoff Rushton/StateCollege.com
Click photo for gallery
Penn State’s former outside general counsel Wendell Courtney advised former vice president Gary Schultz to go to the Department of Public Welfare after Mike McQueary reported an incident in 2001 of seeing Jerry Sandusky in the shower with a boy.
But, Courtney said, he never reached a legal conclusion that the report had been mandated, nor did he determine an incident of suspected child abuse had occurred.
Courtney testified Monday afternoon in McQueary’s civil lawsuit against Penn State . McQueary, the former Penn State football assistant coach, is suing the university on whistleblower, defamation and misrepresentation claims and says that the university’s handling of the report and treatment of him after Sandusky was charged with child sexual abuse in 2011 have damaged his reputation and kept him from finding employment.
The trial began on Monday morning with opening statements.
Courtney said he was contacted by Schultz on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001, two days after McQueary saw Sandusky and the boy in the shower. His time sheet at the firm of McQuaide Blasko, the university’s outside law firm, noted the conference was about reporting suspected child abuse and legal research into the matter.
Courtney said he considered reporting the incident to DPW to be “the smart thing to do,” but was unaware if it had been reported. He said Schultz had described the incident to him as an unnamed graduate assistant having been made uncomfortable after witnessing Sandusky engaged in “horseplay” with a child in a shower area.
The incident was not described as sexual activity, Courtney said on cross-examination by Penn State attorney Nancy Conrad, He said that the notation of “reporting suspected child abuse” was his own and meant to designate that he had researched child protective services laws in light of what Schultz had told him.
“There was no report of sexual activity,” Courtney said. “I am positive I would have asked [Schultz] if it involved sexual activity, and if it had it wouldn’t have been described as horseplay.”
What Schultz and former Athletic Director Tim Curley were told by McQueary and what they decided to do with that information are central to McQueary’s misrepresentation claim. He asserts that he told the administrators in detail that he had witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a child in a shower in the Lasch Football Building. He says they told him the matter would be taken seriously and investigated and appropriate action taken.
Penn State’s director of public information Lisa Powers also testified about the statement issued by then-President Graham Spanier following the charges against Sandusky as well as perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse charges against Curley and Schultz related to the McQueary 2001 report.
McQueary contends the statement, which expressed “unconditional support “ for Curley and Schultz and confidence that the charges against them were “groundless,” was defamatory because it implied McQueary was lying.
Powers testified that on Oct. 28, 2011, eight days before the grand jury presentment of charges against Sandusky, Curley and Schultz, she along with then-Vice President for University Relations Bill Mahon were called to a meeting with Spanier, in which he informed them Curley and Schultz would be charged.
Spanier gave them a copy of the statement he had drafted. Powers said Mahon pointed out that Spanier’s draft did not mention Sandusky’s alleged victims. Spanier then added what would become the first paragraph of the statement released after the presentment was made public, in which he called the allegations against Sandusky “troubling” and said the protection of children requires “utmost vigilance.” She said McQueary was not mentioned during the meeting.
Powers said she questioned Spanier about the statement of unconditional support.
“He said to me if I was doing my job and doing it correctly and had done nothing wrong, would I not want him to support me?” Powers testified.
“He felt it was an attack on his leadership team and nothing more,” she added.
She said she felt the later addition of statements of innocence by attorneys for Schultz and Curley was inappropriate but was told by Mahon it “was what [Spanier] wanted.”
Powers, who testified she did not know the specifics of the charges until after the statement was drafted, also said she did not later consider removing the statement from the Penn State website because it was part of the historical record.
Former longtime Penn State football assistant coach Fran Ganter also testified on Monday afternoon. Though Ganter helped recruit and coach McQueary as a player for Penn State, questions focused on his time from 2003-2012 as associate athletic director for football, a management and liaison role between the program and the athletic department.
Part of Ganter’s responsibilities included conducting performance reviews for assistant coaches, among them McQueary as wide receivers coach from 2004-2011. Portraying McQueary as an exemplary staff member who was unfairly let go, attorney Elliot Strokoff had Ganter go over each of McQueary’s performance reviews during that time. Each review had a final grade of “exceeds expectations” or “significantly exceeds expectations.”
On cross-examination, Conrad asked Ganter about how Spanier’s statement, and similar remarks given to athletics staff on Nov. 7, 2011 were perceived and if he thought they referenced McQueary. He said he did not connect the statement to McQueary and was unaware of anyone else who did.
He also testified that one of the first assistant coaches hired by Bill O’Brien when he became head coach in January 2012 was Stan Hixon, who took over McQueary’s position as wide receivers coach. Ganter said it is not uncommon in football coaching for the previous staff to be replaced by a new coach. O’Brien later told him he had all of his assistant coaches picked out from the start.
Ganter also said prior to O’Brien’s hire, a group of players came to him to set up a meeting with interim Athletic Director Dave Joyner to ask for two specific coaches – Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden -- to be retained. On questioning from Strokoff, Ganter said none of them were McQueary’s position players, and that the players McQueary coached “respected him, that he would work hard for them and that he was a pretty good coach.”
McQueary claims that he was the only assistant coach from Joe Paterno’s final staff not offered an interview with O’Brien. Penn State says other assistants also were not granted interviews. Ganter said he didn’t know for sure, and Strokoff noted that because McQueary was on paid administrative leave, he was not able to use Penn State athletic facilities and would not have been permitted to come to O’Brien’s office for an interview.
McQueary approached Ganter in 2012 to make a call to some coaches who had openings on their staffs on McQueary’s behalf. Ganter said he called Matt Rhule at Temple and Al Golden at Miami and left messages saying he was calling on McQueary’s behalf. Both coaches are former Penn State players. Neither called Ganter back, he said.
McQueary is arguing that Penn State’s actions poisoned him in the college football job market, while Penn State argues that McQueary’s own actions – through a limited resume and the perception that he did not do enough to physically stop Sandusky in 2001 – are the reasons he hasn’t been hired.
Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Bellefonte.
Testimony Continues in McQueary Case Against Penn State
by Geoff Rushton on October 17, 2016 6:19 PM
Mike McQueary leaves the Centre County Courthouse Annex following the first day of trial in his civil suit against Penn State. Photo: Geoff Rushton/StateCollege.com
Click photo for gallery
Penn State’s former outside general counsel Wendell Courtney advised former vice president Gary Schultz to go to the Department of Public Welfare after Mike McQueary reported an incident in 2001 of seeing Jerry Sandusky in the shower with a boy.
But, Courtney said, he never reached a legal conclusion that the report had been mandated, nor did he determine an incident of suspected child abuse had occurred.
Courtney testified Monday afternoon in McQueary’s civil lawsuit against Penn State . McQueary, the former Penn State football assistant coach, is suing the university on whistleblower, defamation and misrepresentation claims and says that the university’s handling of the report and treatment of him after Sandusky was charged with child sexual abuse in 2011 have damaged his reputation and kept him from finding employment.
The trial began on Monday morning with opening statements.
Courtney said he was contacted by Schultz on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2001, two days after McQueary saw Sandusky and the boy in the shower. His time sheet at the firm of McQuaide Blasko, the university’s outside law firm, noted the conference was about reporting suspected child abuse and legal research into the matter.
Courtney said he considered reporting the incident to DPW to be “the smart thing to do,” but was unaware if it had been reported. He said Schultz had described the incident to him as an unnamed graduate assistant having been made uncomfortable after witnessing Sandusky engaged in “horseplay” with a child in a shower area.
The incident was not described as sexual activity, Courtney said on cross-examination by Penn State attorney Nancy Conrad, He said that the notation of “reporting suspected child abuse” was his own and meant to designate that he had researched child protective services laws in light of what Schultz had told him.
“There was no report of sexual activity,” Courtney said. “I am positive I would have asked [Schultz] if it involved sexual activity, and if it had it wouldn’t have been described as horseplay.”
What Schultz and former Athletic Director Tim Curley were told by McQueary and what they decided to do with that information are central to McQueary’s misrepresentation claim. He asserts that he told the administrators in detail that he had witnessed Sandusky sexually abusing a child in a shower in the Lasch Football Building. He says they told him the matter would be taken seriously and investigated and appropriate action taken.
Penn State’s director of public information Lisa Powers also testified about the statement issued by then-President Graham Spanier following the charges against Sandusky as well as perjury and failure to report suspected child abuse charges against Curley and Schultz related to the McQueary 2001 report.
McQueary contends the statement, which expressed “unconditional support “ for Curley and Schultz and confidence that the charges against them were “groundless,” was defamatory because it implied McQueary was lying.
Powers testified that on Oct. 28, 2011, eight days before the grand jury presentment of charges against Sandusky, Curley and Schultz, she along with then-Vice President for University Relations Bill Mahon were called to a meeting with Spanier, in which he informed them Curley and Schultz would be charged.
Spanier gave them a copy of the statement he had drafted. Powers said Mahon pointed out that Spanier’s draft did not mention Sandusky’s alleged victims. Spanier then added what would become the first paragraph of the statement released after the presentment was made public, in which he called the allegations against Sandusky “troubling” and said the protection of children requires “utmost vigilance.” She said McQueary was not mentioned during the meeting.
Powers said she questioned Spanier about the statement of unconditional support.
“He said to me if I was doing my job and doing it correctly and had done nothing wrong, would I not want him to support me?” Powers testified.
“He felt it was an attack on his leadership team and nothing more,” she added.
She said she felt the later addition of statements of innocence by attorneys for Schultz and Curley was inappropriate but was told by Mahon it “was what [Spanier] wanted.”
Powers, who testified she did not know the specifics of the charges until after the statement was drafted, also said she did not later consider removing the statement from the Penn State website because it was part of the historical record.
Former longtime Penn State football assistant coach Fran Ganter also testified on Monday afternoon. Though Ganter helped recruit and coach McQueary as a player for Penn State, questions focused on his time from 2003-2012 as associate athletic director for football, a management and liaison role between the program and the athletic department.
Part of Ganter’s responsibilities included conducting performance reviews for assistant coaches, among them McQueary as wide receivers coach from 2004-2011. Portraying McQueary as an exemplary staff member who was unfairly let go, attorney Elliot Strokoff had Ganter go over each of McQueary’s performance reviews during that time. Each review had a final grade of “exceeds expectations” or “significantly exceeds expectations.”
On cross-examination, Conrad asked Ganter about how Spanier’s statement, and similar remarks given to athletics staff on Nov. 7, 2011 were perceived and if he thought they referenced McQueary. He said he did not connect the statement to McQueary and was unaware of anyone else who did.
He also testified that one of the first assistant coaches hired by Bill O’Brien when he became head coach in January 2012 was Stan Hixon, who took over McQueary’s position as wide receivers coach. Ganter said it is not uncommon in football coaching for the previous staff to be replaced by a new coach. O’Brien later told him he had all of his assistant coaches picked out from the start.
Ganter also said prior to O’Brien’s hire, a group of players came to him to set up a meeting with interim Athletic Director Dave Joyner to ask for two specific coaches – Larry Johnson and Ron Vanderlinden -- to be retained. On questioning from Strokoff, Ganter said none of them were McQueary’s position players, and that the players McQueary coached “respected him, that he would work hard for them and that he was a pretty good coach.”
McQueary claims that he was the only assistant coach from Joe Paterno’s final staff not offered an interview with O’Brien. Penn State says other assistants also were not granted interviews. Ganter said he didn’t know for sure, and Strokoff noted that because McQueary was on paid administrative leave, he was not able to use Penn State athletic facilities and would not have been permitted to come to O’Brien’s office for an interview.
McQueary approached Ganter in 2012 to make a call to some coaches who had openings on their staffs on McQueary’s behalf. Ganter said he called Matt Rhule at Temple and Al Golden at Miami and left messages saying he was calling on McQueary’s behalf. Both coaches are former Penn State players. Neither called Ganter back, he said.
McQueary is arguing that Penn State’s actions poisoned him in the college football job market, while Penn State argues that McQueary’s own actions – through a limited resume and the perception that he did not do enough to physically stop Sandusky in 2001 – are the reasons he hasn’t been hired.
Testimony is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Bellefonte.
