[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14372]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             NCAA SANCTIONS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in July of 2012, the 
National College Athletic Association bypassed its own enforcement 
rules and procedures and rescinded 40 academic scholarships from the 
Pennsylvania State University. The decision disqualified student 
athletes--academic achievers--who had nothing to do with the tragic 
events that transpired at the university. The NCAA's decision was 
misdirected and a complete contradiction of the association's goal, 
which is to promote access to higher education among student athletes.
  This Monday, the NCAA announced that it would gradually restore the 
scholarships that were wrongly revoked last year. Despite this news, I 
stand by my initial correspondence with the NCAA suggesting the 
decision to take punitive action against past, present, and future 
students for an institutional failure and actions out of their hands 
was completely unjustified.
  Mr. Speaker, the resilience of Penn State's students, alumni, the 
broader community, and especially the victims during this very 
challenging time has been nothing short of inspirational. I give my 
commitment to them to continue to push back against the arbitrary 
actions of the NCAA and will not back down until they correct their 
actions.

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