Mike McQueary, the former graduate assistant football coach at Penn State who complained about former coach Jerry Sandusky showering with a boy on campus, has sued the school for misrepresentation and defamation. The lawsuit is a whistle blower suit that claims he has suffered anxiety, distress, embarrassment and humiliation because of the way he was treated by the school since Sandusky’s arrest.
In the lawsuit, there is a discussion of what happened not long after Sandusky was arrested. The lawsuit said that the school’s president at the time, Graham Spanier, had a meeting with staff members of the athletic department and expressed his support for then-athletic director Tim Curley and then-vice president Gary Schultz. The two men were charged with failure to properly report suspected child abuse and perjury.
McQueary claims that the support from Spanier of the two men was an effort to make him a scapegoat and to protect the reputation of the school. McQueary saw the alleged abuse back in 2001 and told then-football head coach Joe Paterno of what he saw. Paterno reportedly told Curley and Schultz of the incident. McQueary said that the meeting with Spanier in November “clearly suggest(ed) that (McQueary) was lying in his reports and testimonies that he had reported the sexual misconduct.”
“Spanier’s statements have irreparably harmed (McQueary’s) reputation for honesty and integrity, and have irreparably harmed (his) ability to earn a living, especially in his chosen profession of coaching football,” the lawsuit said.
McQueary was placed on administrative leave on November 11 and he found out his contract was not renewed during a press conference in July that was held by new president Rodney Erickson. McQueary said that he was paid $140,000 last year and that he would have earned $4 million for working as a coach in the future.
McQueary said he was let go for cooperating with investigators, for testifying at preliminary hearings for Schultz and Curley and for being a witness against them at their upcoming trials. He is asking for a bowl bonus he lost when placed on leave, reinstatement to the university, back pay, legal fees and benefits.