Corbett’s Effort to Redeem Penn State Quashed as Judge Dismisses His Lawsuit Against NCAA

Tom Corbett’s quest to win over a state full of resentful and suspicious Penn Staters has come to a screeching halt after a federal juge dismissed his lawsuit against the NCAA. The Governor was seeking to reverse the $60 million in sanctions it has imposed on the school for its handling of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Here’s U.S. Middle District Judge Yvette Kane, shredding his legal reasoning:

The fact that Penn State will offer fewer scholarships over a period of four years does not plausibly support its allegation that the reduction of scholarships at Penn State will result in a market-wide anticompetitive effect, such that the `nation’s top scholastic football players’ would be unable to obtain a scholarship in the nationwide market for Division I football players.”

In what may come as a bit of moral support for the Nittany Lion faithful, however, Kane added that “in another forum the complaint’s appeal to equity and common sense may win the day, but in the antitrust world these arguments fail to advance the ball.” (See what she did there?) Corbett, of course, can appeal the decision. [AP]