Mike McQueary is demanding Penn State produce evidence that he was fired after his contract ended and not as a result of his testimony in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
In court documents filed Friday, the former wideout coach’s attorneys refuted Penn State’s assertion that McQueary’s employment at Penn State was terminated when his contract ended on June 30, 2012. McQueary says he didn’t even know he lost his job until Penn State President Rodney Erickson said so at a press conference in July.
On May 7, attorneys for Penn State said McQueary was placed on a paid leave of absence in November 2011 after he received a death threat. Also, because McQueary was not fired, he is not entitled to the severance payments he’s asked for.
McQueary sued Penn State for $4 million in October and said he wants compensation for what he considers to be the irreparable damage done to his reputation. According to the court document, McQueary is suffering “much distress, anxiety, anguish, humiliation and embarrassment as a direct result of the university’s actions.”
Furthermore, the damages sought should be granted to McQueary because he says the university acted “outrageously, in bad faith and with actual malice” toward him.
The lawsuit is a whistleblower, misrepresentation and defamation suit. McQueary says his firing was unjustified and he wants to be compensated for his legal fees and any lost future earnings. He says he is unable to find a job because of the negative things that have been said about him.
McQueary testified that he witnessed Sandusky in the Lasch Football Building locker room shower with a young boy on Feb. 1, 2001. He said he did not call police but reported the alleged incident to his father and a family friend, who told him to tell his boss, former head football coach Joe Paterno.
Sandusky, 69, was convicted of child sexual abuse in June and is serving a 30-60 year sentence in a maximum-security prison.
