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Statement from Penn State on forthcoming SportsIllustrated article:To characterize the medical care Penn State provides ourstudent-athletes as anything other than the highest quality is

erroneous. Access to urgent and quality care for our athletes is noless than where it was at any point in the past 20 years. Weprovided Sports Illustrated with facts and data that demonstrateour commitment to our student athletes and how we compare toother peer institutions. Instead, the article sensationalizes in orderto insinuate lower standards and largely ignores statements fromthe Dean of the College of Medicine.

Contrary to the reporters assertions, Dr. Sebastianelli

remains the doctor in charge of the Universitys entire medicalprogram for intercollegiate athletics, including football. Further,there has been no change in the support provided by StateCollege-based Penn State orthopedic surgeons, including Dr.Sebastianelli.The following are statements provided by Penn State toSports Illustrated.Dr. Harold Paz, senior vice president for Health Affairs,Chief Executive Officer, Penn State Hershey MedicalCenter and dean of the College of Medicine:"As a former collegiate athlete and a fellowship-trained sportsmedicine physician, Dr. Scott Lynch has a tremendousunderstanding of the health care needs of Penn State's footballteam and a deep personal commitment to the well-being of its

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players. We have great confidence in his ability to serve asorthopedic consultant to the team. He will be in attendance atevery Penn State football game and will meet weekly throughoutthe year with other members of the sports medicine team andinjured players in State College to oversee the evaluation,

treatment and recovery of our student athletes."In the event of an emergent medical need, our focus will be onproviding the best possible care for the athlete. We have threePenn State Hershey-employed orthopedic surgeons based in StateCollege, including Dr. Sebastianelli, that are credentialed toperform surgery at Mount Nittany Medical Center, fellowship-trained in sports medicine and can assist with care of the athlete.

One of these surgeons is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days aweek to ensure surgical coverage in the event of such anemergency. In rare instances of extremely complex problems thatrequire Level I trauma care, an athlete may be transported toPenn State Hershey Medical Center. In addition, the football teamphysicians will continue to report directly to Dr. Sebastianelli. Thissame practice of emergency coverage in support of Penn Statestudent-athletes has been in place for many years and will

continue.

Bill O'Brien, Head Football Coach:When I was hired as the Head Football Coach at Penn State, I

was asked to observe areas of the football program and thenmake recommendations. After observing our medicalorganization in the football program for a full year, Irecommended that it would be in the best interests of our

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program, and most importantly our student-athletes, to make achange in the team physicians. Dr. Lynch and Dr. Seidenberg wereidentified as excellent doctors who could serve in this role. Dr.Seidenberg will attend our practices and Dr. Lynch will be here ongame day. From a coverage standpoint, we have exactly the same

level of medical care as we had previously. The same surgeons aslast year are available to players who would need that level ofattention. Nothing about our level or quality of athlete care haschanged. These young men mean a great deal to me and ourstaff. They give their all to Penn State. I will always recommendwhat I feel is best for our student-athletes in every area of thefootball program.

Below are credentials for Drs. Lynch and Seidenberg:Dr. Seidenberg, who serves as team physician, is alsoassociate professor of orthopedics and a primary care sportsmedicine physician for Penn State Hersheys orthopedic practicein State College. Dr. Lynch is an associate professor of orthopedicsand director of orthopedic sports medicine at Penn State HersheyMedical Center, and he serves as the football programsorthopedic consultant.

Dr. David Joyner, Director of Athletics:Care of our student-athletes is a top priority for Penn State,

as it always has been. The present medical care model is veryconsistent with peer institutions in the Big Ten and elsewhere. Thepresent system offers appropriate and exceptional medical carefor our student-athletes.

"It's terribly unfortunate some want to make baseless

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accusations. We refuse to engage in a such a conversation. Thevast majority of Penn Staters want the focus to be on ourdedicated student-athletes, as it should be."

Penn State Athletics:Questions and rumors about the head athletic trainer were

investigated by an outside law firm in January. The trainer andsupervisory physicians were interviewed. The legal team's reportconcluded there was no credible or substantial evidence tosupport the allegations or rumors, and there was no wrongdoingor violation of any professional standards. The report alsoconcluded that none of the physicians who supervise the head

trainer had made or documented any contemporaneouscomplaints to anyone or discussed with the trainer any concernsabout overstepping bounds of care.

Mr. Bream is a respected and dedicated professional whoprovides care to hundreds of our student-athletes.