Penn State president: Freeh report 'absurd, unwarranted'

Penn State president slams Freeh report investigating how officials handled child molestation allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, calling it “absurd” and "unwarranted."

Penn State president Eric Barron said that the Freeh report was not useful and created an "abusrd" and "unwarranted" portrait of the university.

Louis Freeh, a former FBI director, was commissioned by the school in 2012 to investigate how it handled child molestation allegations against former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. His report concluded that several administrators concealed facts about Sandusky’s behavior on campus and that the university created a culture built around the football program.

"I have to say, I'm not a fan of the report," Barron told the Associated Press. "There's no doubt in my mind, Freeh steered everything as if he were a prosecutor trying to convince a court to take the case."

The NCAA eventually placed the football program on four years of probation, stripped them of scholarships, fined the university $60 million and vacated 112 wins from coach Joe Paterno.

"I think it's increasingly clear that none of the things that transpired had any impact on the field," Barron said. "And therefore I think almost universally, people say, well, those teams win those games. I think it's equally clear that in almost every instance we pay a penalty if we don't follow a process. And the NCAA stepped out of their process."

Those bowl rights, scholarships and wins were restored by the NCAA.

Sandusky was found guilty of of 45 counts of child sexual abuse and is serving a 30- to 60-year prison sentence.

- Scooby Axson