Paterno Family Fires Back at Freeh Report

The family of late Pennsylvania State University football coach Joe Paterno slammed as a "rush to injustice" the university-funded inquiry last year that found that Mr. Paterno and other officials conspired to conceal child sexual abuse committed by former coach Jerry Sandusky.

Enlarge Image

Close Associated Press

A Paterno family-commissioned report blasted a university inquiry. Here, a vigil last month marks the anniversary of Paterno's death.

A report commissioned by the family and released Sunday by a group including former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh contended that the findings last year of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh were factually wrong, speculative and "fundamentally flawed."

Mr. Freeh's seven-month inquiry found that Mr. Paterno, along with former Penn State President Graham Spanier and two other former administrators, tried to protect the school from bad publicity by not reporting to police allegations that Mr. Sandusky had been seen showering with a boy on campus in 2001.

Mr. Thornburgh and the others concluded that the "validity and thoroughness of the Freeh report was oversold to the public" and shouldn't have been accepted by the Penn State board of trustees and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which used it as the basis for unprecedented sanctions against the university.

Enlarge Image

Close Getty Images

Sue Paterno, widow of Joe Paterno, consoles her grandson following a public memorial on campus for the former Penn State football coach on Jan. 26, 2012.

The report, which took about six months to complete, contended that Mr. Freeh failed to interview several key witnesses, that his investigators didn't have subpoena power and that witnesses didn't testify under oath. It also said that Mr. Freeh's findings, which were based partly on a handful of emails among former Penn State officials, didn't acknowledge that most emails from the relevant time period weren't available due to a computer system change.

Mr. Freeh said in a statement that he respected the right of the Paterno family "to conduct public media campaigns in an effort to shape the legacy of Joe Paterno." But he called the latest report self-serving and said it didn't change the facts or conclusions of his own report. "Four of the most powerful officials at Penn State agreed not to report Sandusky's activity to public officials," Mr. Freeh said.

A Penn State spokesman didn't comment directly on the new report but said it was "understandable and appreciated that people will draw their own conclusions and opinions from the facts uncovered in the Freeh report." He said the university is implementing governance changes recommended by the Freeh report.

The Paterno family report is unlikely to put to rest controversy about the former coach, who was fired by Penn State's board of trustees shortly after charges were brought against Mr. Sandusky in November 2011. Mr. Paterno died two months later, and since then his legacy has been severely damaged as a result of the Sandusky scandal.

After Mr. Freeh's report was released, a statue of Mr. Paterno was removed from the football stadium at Penn State, and the NCAA vacated 111 of Penn State's football wins, meaning that he is no longer the winningest major college football coach.

Mr. Paterno said shortly before he died that he wished he "had done more" after hearing of the 2001 shower incident. He never addressed emails or other notes by administrators that Mr. Freeh later said indicated that he conspired to not report the incident.

Mr. Spanier has said he was unaware that the shower incident involved anything more than "horseplay," and his lawyers previously issued their own criticism of Mr. Freeh's report, calling it a "blundering and indefensible indictment." The two other administrators also have said they were unaware of child sex abuse by Mr. Sandusky. Mr. Spanier and the others officials are awaiting trial on obstruction and conspiracy, among other charges. They have maintained their innocence.

Mr. Sandusky was convicted last June on 45 counts of child sex abuse and is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence. His attorneys are planning a formal appeal.

The Paterno family report was issued by Mr. Thornburgh�who served as Attorney General from 1988 to 1991 and governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987�and former FBI profiler Jim Clemente, Washington attorney Wick Sollers and Dr. Fred Berlin, an expert on sexual abuse at Johns Hopkins University. According to their report, Mr. Freeh based his findings on "raw speculation and unsupported opinion."

Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com