Peonage
Behind every master receiving praise for a successful meal there is a hard working maid. I can recall times after thanksgiving dinner sitting down with my great grandmother her telling me stories of her past. Stories of her master sitting down at a table full of his guests, he smiling and receiving all the accolades. The immaculate dinner and table setting for that evening all done by her. She would speak of the look that was on his face as if all the attention he was receiving was unwarranted. Margarita, the maid, my great grandmother, working there since 8 o'clock in the morning not leaving until late that evening, until everyone had eaten, and most important of all until he had received the appraisal for the pie that he sliced and shared with everyone except her, the maker. The NCAA shares the success and revenue with college presidents and athletic directors while college athletes, the generators do not see the fruits of their labor. The NCAA applies a form of modern day slavery.
The selection process of an athlete is the result of the productivity of their abilities just like a slave’s trade all depended on the virtues and mass production they could bring to the plantations.The athletes are picked to work for the college based on how skilled, strong, and agile they are. The players are examined and watched on a field while showing their dexterities and then go to the highest bidder. Much like how slaves were taken to auctions and lined up in front of buyers who examined them to see how muscular, strong, healthy, and dexterous they were. Tom Lemming is the top national recruiting analyst for ESPN. For the NCAA he scouts, ranks, and rates high school football players such as Greg Jones from Beaufort, South Carolina ...
... middle of paper ...
...sports_nut%2F2012%2F05%2Fncaa_scholarship_rules_it_s_morally_indefensible_that_athletic_scholarships_can_be_yanked_after_one_year_for_any_reason_.html>.
Lozano, Pepe. "People's World." Hypocrisy and Exploitation in College Sports » Peoplesworld. People's World, 22 Sept. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
"O'Bannon v. National Collegiate Athletic Ass'nEyeglasses – Previously Viewed in Last 30." WestlawNext. N.p., 2 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
"Tom Lemming's Top 100." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 21 Feb. 2000. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. .
Williams, Peter. The sports immortals: deifying the American athlete. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1994.. 30-31
Most student-athletes grow up as very innocent lads bedecked with tremendous talents and become very promising in sports. Thus, they become rays of hope for their families, neighborhoods, and schools yet to be determined. Like the lamb in William Blake’s poem The Lamb, they are fed “by the stream & o’er the mead; gave…clothing of delight, softest clothing, wooly, bright…making all the vales rejoice.” (Smith 24) Then they are exposed to the life of hard work in which only the fittest survives. This makes them ready for the different challenges in the sports scene.
Posnanki, Joe. “To Hall With These Guys?.” Sports Illustrated 115.4 (2011): 14. MAS Ultra – School Edition. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
There are thousands of high school football players across the nation, and a handful of them have what it takes to play at the college level. Those that do have the raw talent normally get reached by college football recruiters and coaches. The NCAA, the National College Athletic Association, has many rules and regulations especially surrounding the rules and conduct of recruiting student athletes. Men's football takes the most notice, as well as basketball, of all collegiate sports in the U.S. today (Smith, 2015). According to Langelett (2003), the NCAA limits each school to 85 football scholarships. With a limited number of scholarships available, schools spend a considerable amount of time and money on recruiting players.
College athletes have a goal that they pursue. The jump to the professional sports leagues is an accomplishment that most college athletes wanted to achieve. But most college athletes go to college and forego completing their senior year and don’t get a degree. In basketball most athletes are one and done. This means they go to college for only one year then enter the NBA draft. For the NFL players have to be out of high school for three years and necessarily don’t have to go to college.
Almost all colleges have friendly classes or teachers that understand the stresses of the student athlete that has to practice and study. But they do not understand the young man or woman who works full time and is trying to make a better life for themselves. These teachers are selected by the coaches and ADs as the teaches to have. These friends of the program will make sure that a student is eligible to play. These teachers will also sometimes waive assignments and even allow slacked attendance. Were as when the average Joe misses he will loose credit and not be allowed to make up missed work.
Van Rheenen, Derek. "Exploitation in College Sports: Race, Revenue, and Educational Reward." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48.5 (2013): 550-71. Print.
Since the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) inception in 1906 there have been laws in place to protect the amateurism status of its student athletes. Over the last 100 years the NCAA has morphed into a multimillion dollar business. The success and revenue that student athletes have brought the NCAA and its member institutions has sparked a debate of whether or not to compensate players for paying. Research in the field has focused on the debate and reasons to pay players and reasons not to. There has been little attempt to assert the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of the student athletes. The purpose of this study is to examine what the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the student athletes towards NCAA amateurism laws. Informal face to face interviews with Division 1 student athletes at universities in Indiana will be conducted to get an analysis of the attitudes, opinions, and feelings Division 1 student athletes have towards NCAA Amateurism laws.
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
Beginning in the 1920s, public interest towards college sports sky rocketed with the growing opportunities of higher education for everyone, regardless of social status. This effect caused the Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Education to take a closer look into this fast growing industry in the “Carnegie Report” in 1929. The report made a plea to the NCAA to reduce the level of commercialization and improve academic integrity for all student-athletes. This is just the first time the NCAA receives this very recommendation. Post World War II brought another increase in college attendance with government financed aid to veterans. Widespread availability of televisions and radios lead to broadcasting of college sport events, bringing in a multitude of fans as well as the expected friends and family of athletes. Soon gambling and excessive means of recruiting tempted the industry and the NCAA was forced to...
Another reason that college athletes should not be paid is because they are, under NCAA rules, to be considered amateurs. In the National Collegiate Athletic Association Rules it states, “College athletes are not to be paid, not to cash in on their prominence, never to cross any kind of line of professionalism.” Steve Wieberg, of the USA Today, studied the rules that the NCAA has placed on paying college athletes. He concludes that, “Athletic programs are meant to be an integral part of the educational program” (Weinberg). The reoccurring theme here should be obvious now —education is the most important part of the student’s time in college and being an athlete should come second.
The blood,sweat,pain, and tears are worth it when a hopeful college football player gets his name called by the NFL commissioner. These players selected in the NFL Draft have been through an emotional roller coaster. Their lifelong dream has finally come true through tremendous perseverance and work. Although the odds aren’t good, heavy preparation during high school and college football can land a determined football player a spot in the NFL Draft.
Zimbalist, Andrew S. Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism And Conflict In Big-Time College Sports. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
I believe that college sports should be considered a profession. Athletes deserve to be paid for their work. College athletics are a critical part of America’s culture and economy. At the present time, student-athletes are considered amateurs. College is a stepping-stone to the professional leagues. The NCAA is exploiting the student- athlete. Big-time schools are running a national entertainment business that controls the compensation rate of the players like a monopoly (Byers 1).
One may argue that the media exploits college athletes by using their likeness for publicity, but the athlete’s public image is being publicized positively as a result of the media using their likeness. “It is much easier for pro teams to evaluate their talent after watching their college careers and talking to college coaches they can trust for the inside story” (Dorfman). The publicity that these college athletes receive give them a better chance at professional coaches and scouts to notice them. Many athletes go unnoticed due to the lack of their own publicity while others are the face of the sport because of how the media portrays them. It also allows for the athlete’s name to be spread and be known around the nation and become more well-known.