To seek relief, "he must have suffered the kind of harm which has grievously fractured his standing in the community," she wrote in the motion, filed Tuesday.
McQueary, 38, emerged as a central witness last year in the investigation of Sandusky, the football team's former defensive coordinator, who was sentenced in October to a minimum 30-year prison term for molesting 10 boys.
McQueary testified that as a graduate assistant in 2001, he walked in on a sexual encounter between Sandusky and a boy who appeared to be about 10 in a locker-room shower. When he reported what he had seen to university officials, they assured him that they would handle the matter, though nothing was ever done, he said.
Three of those administrators - former university president Graham B. Spanier, suspended athletic director Tim Curley, and former vice president Gary Schultz - now face charges of conspiring to cover up allegations lodged against Sandusky.
All three men have denied the charges and said McQueary never made clear to them that what he had witnessed was sexual in nature.
Though McQueary's story proved central to prosecutors' case - providing an alleged link between Sandusky's crimes and administrators at the university - the former assistant endured much criticism for failing to break up the encounter he said he had witnessed.
Shortly after Sandusky's arrest, Penn State placed McQueary on administrative leave. It later chose not to renew his contract as an assistant coach under the football team's new head coach, Bill O'Brien. McQueary sued in October, alleging the decision was based on his involvement with the Sandusky case.
Shortly after Sandusky's arrest, Spanier publicly pledged "unconditional support" for Curley and Schultz in a statement that McQueary now says was a backhanded attack on his credibility.
In their filings Tuesday, Penn State's lawyers denied any criticism of McQueary in Spanier's statement. The former coach's lawsuit is also too vague and fails to lay out specific harm caused by the university, the attorneys argued.
Last month, Judge Thomas G. Gavin denied a university request to put McQueary's suit on hold until prosecutors completed their prosecution of Spanier, Curley, and Schultz. He has not yet set a date to hear McQueary's whistle-blower claims.
Contact Jeremy Roebuck at 267-564-5218, jroebuck@phillynews.com, or @jeremyrroebuck on Twitter. INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Pennsylvania State University on Tuesday denied a defamation and wrongful termination claim made by a former assistant football coach who testified against Jerry Sandusky.
In filings in Centre County court, the university asked a judge to throw out a state whistle-blower lawsuit brought by Mike McQueary, arguing that any damage he endured as a result of his role as a prosecution witness was not caused by Penn State.
So far, McQueary has failed to provide any evidence suggesting Penn State officials publicly questioned his character, wrote university counsel Nancy Conrad.
"It is not enough that the alleged victim of a statement be embarrassed or annoyed, he must have suffered the kind of harm which has grievously fractured his standing in the community," she wrote in the motion filed Tuesday.
McQueary, 38, emerged as a central witness last year in the investigation of Sandusky, the football team's former defensive coordinator who was sentenced in October to a minimum 30-year prison term for molesting 10 boys.
As a graduate assistant in 2001, McQueary testified, he walked in on a sexual encounter in a locker room shower between Sandusky and a boy who appeared to be about 10. When he later reported what he had seen to university officials, they assured him that they would handle the matter, he said, though nothing was ever done.
Three of those officials - former university president Graham B. Spanier, suspended athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz - now face charges of conspiring to cover up allegations lodged against Sandusky.
All three men have denied the charges and said McQueary never made clear to them that what he had witnessed was sexual in nature.
Though McQueary's story proved central to prosecutors' case - providing an alleged link between Sandusky's crimes and administrators at the university - the former assistant endured much criticism for failing to breakup the encounter he said he witnessed.
Shortly after Sandusky's arrest, Penn State placed McQueary on administrative leave and later declined to renew his contract as an assistant coach under the football team's new head coach, Bill O'Brien. McQueary sued in October, alleging the decision was based on his involvement with the Sandusky case.
Shortly after Sandusky's arrest, Spanier publicly pledged "unconditional support" for Curley and Schultz in a statement McQueary now says was a backhanded attack on his own credibility.
In their filings Tuesday, Penn State's lawyers denied any criticism of McQueary in Spanier's statement.
The former coach's lawsuit is also too vague and fails to lay out specific harm caused by the university, the attorneys argued.
Last month, Judge Thomas G. Gavin denied a university request to put McQueary's suit on hold until prosecutors completed their prosecution of Spanier, Curley and Schultz. He has not yet set a date to hear McQueary's whistle-blower claims.
Contact staff writer Jeremy Roebuck at 267-564-5218, jroebuck@phillynews.com, or @jeremyrroebuck on Twitter.
