BELLEFONTE — A Pennsylvania judge said Tuesday he would decide later whether to allow a lawsuit against the NCAA filed by the family of longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and others to go forward.

After hearing more than three hours of arguments, Judge John B. Leete said he planned to issue a written opinion but did not say when.

A lawyer for college sports’ governing body urged him to throw out the complaint.

The lawsuit and the court are “a poor forum for the venting of frustration, and the NCAA should not be made the scapegoat for the errors and omissions of university officials,” NCAA lawyer Everett Johnson said.

Leete is considering a host of issues, including whether Penn State itself is an indispensable party to the lawsuit, which challenges the NCAA penalties imposed on Penn State as a result of the Jerry Sandusky child-molestation scandal.

The Paterno family — joined by four university trustees, four faculty members, nine former players and two former coaches — allege breach of contract, contract interference, defamation, civil conspiracy and commercial disparagement.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Joseph Loveland, called the sanctions “coercion and a cram-down of the highest order.” He said his clients wanted to compare the Penn State matter with how the NCAA has handled other cases.

“The truth of the matter is they were acting completely in uncharted waters with nothing whatsoever to support them on it,” Loveland said.

The court session was held a day after Penn State announced $59.7 million in settlements with 26 young men over claims of abuse by Sandusky, who was the school’s longtime defensive coach. He was convicted last year of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.