Paterno Files Motion to Declassify Freeh Report Documents

It seemed that the release of Freeh Report documents in the Paterno vs. NCAA case was inevitable when a judge ordered Pepper Hamilton, Freeh’s law firm, to turn them over.

But Pepper Hamilton fought that order and is hoping to designate all Freeh Report documents as “highly classified,” blocking the plaintiffs from accessing them in the confines of the lawsuit.

Attorneys for former Penn State football coaches Jay Paterno and William Kenney filed a motion to strike that designation on Thursday, arguing that there is no legal basis for the “highly classified” label to be applied to Freeh Report documents.

“[That designation] means that a document contains ‘non-public information the disclosure of which would create a substantial risk of serious irreparable injury to the designating party or another that cannot be avoided by less restrictive means,’” the filing said. 

Attorneys for the plaintiffs believe that the Freeh Report documents don’t fit that definition, and therefore most be released in accordance with the court order directing Pepper Hamilton to do just that.

“It has been almost a year since the plaintiffs served [Pepper Hamilton] with a subpoena … after this court overruled objections to the subpoena by Pepper Hamilton’s client, Pennsylvania State University,” the filing said. “Since that time, Pepper Hamilton and Penn State have repeatedly failed to comply with their discovery obligations and resisted production of responsive documents.”

The filing again reiterates the argument that Freeh Report documents are relevant to the case. Paterno and Kenney are suing both Penn State and the NCAA — along with NCAA president Mark Emmert and former executive committee chairman Edward Ray, alleging that the Freeh Report draws false conclusions and was used to wrongfully terminate the coaches and has since damaged their careers. 

“The claims in this case pertain to the consent decree between the NCAA and Penn State, which adopted the findings and conclusions in the Freeh Report,” the filing said. “A key issue in this case is whether the NCAA had any basis for adopting the Freeh Report and, in turn, whether there is any factual basis for the Freeh Report’s findings and conclusions.”

Judge John Leete, who is specially providing over the Centre County case, set a hearing for oral arguments on Wednesday, Sep. 9, at 10 a.m. The hearing will take place in the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte. Attorneys will argue a number of motions and filings, including the aforementioned motion to strike the “highly classified” designation and the defendants’ motion compelling Paterno and Kenney to turn over documents related to any attempts to find employment both prior to and after the Sandusky scandal.