University President Graham Spanier and the late football coach Joe Paterno were fired for failing to stop Sandusky sooner. Spanier, Paterno and other administrators were blamed for the abuse in a university-paid report by Louis Freeh , a former FBI chief and MBNA Bank executive who currently heads Philadelphia's Pepper Hamilton law firm. Spanier and two other administrators face criminal charges, which they are fighting. Spanier has challenged the Freeh report and plans to sue. Both the university's handling of Sandusky, and its later acceptance of the Freeh report and NCAA sanctions, have provoked strong reaction among Penn State alumni. Pro-Paterno activists who reject Freeh's conclusions and the idea that the university and senior administrators share responsibility for Sandusky's assaults have been gaining influence on the Penn State board.