Chicago Congressman Bobby Rush is calling on the Congress to conduct a congressional hearing on the National Collegiate Athletic Association after the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University.
The first district congressman released a statement Tuesday saying he and more than 30 other members of Congress sent a letter to the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade asking for the hearing.
Rep. Rush details in the letter that some within the NCAA assert the organization lacks jurisdiction to investigate. Rush says he and the other co-signatories "strong disagree" with that claim.
"The NCAA 's ultimate investigation of and response to said allegations will directly impact interstate commerce and have significant precedential effect in establishing where the NCAA's jurisdiction begins and ends," said Rush in the letter.
The letter claims the Subcommittee given its jurisdiction over the regulation of interstate commerce and commercial practices, including sports, can request a hearing on the scandal.
Penn State University and officials came under fire after the release of disturbing allegations of sexual abuse of children by former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Rush earlier this month compared the NCAA to the Mafia for the way it treats their students. When the Penn State story broke, he said he wasn't surprised.
