As the Joker once said in The Dark Knight, "if you are good at something, you should never do it for free." That statement, despite being said being a crazy man who quite literally burnt millions of dollars to the ground and has no regards to human life other than himself is what people deeply generally feel on the inside, what is the point of being at good at something when they are not being paid at all to do so, especially if its set within a major setting, where millions of people are watching college players pouring out their blood, sweat, and tears in order to get a chance to be successful within their respective field of sports. This is where the NCAA controversy comes into play. According to the NCAA, the athletes who play in the …show more content…
Bill Walton's excerpt, "My Priceless Opportunity", Walton's tells a very different story of his time* about being a NCAA player and presents the NCAA in a different light, instead of demonizing them and making them seem like an organization that greatly benefitted them (keep in mind that Walton was indeed a player for the NCAA within U.C.L.A., whereas Deford having no mention of him being a NCAA player to his name.) Walton mentions about his personal experience as a basketball player and states that there would be some issues that would be needed if college athletes were to be paid for their work. He tells the reader that despite him not being paid, he treats his time with the U.C.L.A basketball team as a blessing, going as far as to call it the best deal in the world. In his words, the benefits of the NCAA is that they "feed you, clothe you, educate you, give you a living stipend, and you get to travel the world." Walton ends his excerpt by stating that he "will be watching the N.C.A.A tournament with great interest, as I do every year.I love the passion, the pride, the beaming alumni, the song girls, the pageantry, and maybe mostly- the …show more content…
The comedian and commentator John Oliver (the host) talks about the NCAA and criticizes it on multiple fronts. He first points out that the "non-profit" status that the NCAA puts out is likely to be a façade due to how they receive massive amounts of sponsorships, so much so that the NCAA makes up to a billion in ad revenue alone, despite the claims of schools barely making enough money in order to run such programs like the NCAA, the schools in turn make investments like higher salaries for coaches, extravagant gyms, better facilities, and larger stadiums. Oliver continues to criticize the NCAA, stating that they "pay" their students with a free education despite the fact that the students need to take their time off their school and be able to perfect their craft, he states "paying top college athletes with an education is kind of like telling a full-time nurse, 'there's no salary for this job. We're just going to be giving you free trumpet lessons, which you will be too busy to do. But if you don't learn to play the trumpet, you're fired.'" Oliver continues to blitzkrieg the NCAA by even mentioning that a NCAA player would go to sleep hungry every night. As equally as shocking, Oliver says that in the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, there would be "paper classes" aka classes with an really easy grade that are solely meant to boost a players GPA, which courses in African American culture
Some feel that by not paying college athletes that college institutions are thereby exploiting their athletes free of charge, which is unfair. However, this article feels that college athletes are paid very favorably by the large amount of money they receive for schooling through scholarships. Also, since college athletes don’t pay to play or go to school they are receiving a free college degree whether or not they decide to stay in school for four years or not. With the training that they receive from professional trainers and nutritionists for a professional controlled diet they save possibly thousands within the 4 years they attend school and perform in collegiate athletics.
First lets explore the history behind the paying of college athletes. Over the past 50 years the NCAA has been in control of all Div.1, 2 and 3 athletic programs. The NCAA is an organization that delegates and regulates what things college athletes can and can’t do. These regulations are put in place under the label of ‘protecting amateurism’ in college sports. This allots
Imagine a business that brings in $60 million each year, and the people fueling that industry receive none of the revenue (Wieberg). These same people work 40 hours in their sport every week. These “people” are college athletes. The NCAA, the governing body for major college sports, is the industry doing this to college athletes (Edelman). This is an issue of exploitation and control by large institutions over primarily poor people.
Should college athletes receive pay for what they do? You’ve probably seen this pop-up a million times, and thought about it. You’ve probably figured why should they? Aren’t they already receiving benefits from a full-ride scholarship? But then an athlete will get caught up in a scandal like Johnny Manziel, where he signed footballs for money.. then you think well why shouldn’t he receive that money? And you then contradict yourself. But shouldn’t they receive money from outside sources, and then the benefits from the school. Not get a salary from the school just the benefits they’re already receiving, and money from sponsors. Wouldn’t that make sense considering the money they’re making the school? According to an ESPN report Alabama University makes $123,769,841 in total revenue from sports. (College Athletics Revenue) Yes ONE HUNDRED & TWENTY THREE MILLION. Yet an athlete from Alabama can only receive benefits from a scholarship.. That doesn’t seem right. You would want to be payed when the opportunity arises. It should only be fair these players get a piece of the revenue pie, after all they are the ones creating the revenue. The players should be getting benefits to allow them to pay for basic college needs, grow up to be responsible adults, and allow the NCAA to thrive. This would allow for the NCAA to truly thrive as a sporting association.
... being paid. Many people prefer watching college sports over professional sports based on the idea that money isn’t involved in college sports. They are competing and giving everything they have for the love of their teammates, the love of their school, and above all, their love for the game. Paying athletes would ruin this standard of intercollegiate athletics. For all these reasons, college athletes should not be paid beyond their full ride scholarships.
Many sports people say that if the NCAA pays the athletes to play, it will encourage them to stay in school longer. The money that the athletes will receive at the next level will be bigger than any amount the NCAA can afford to pay them. Athletes argue that the NCAA and ESPN are making billions of dollars off of them to air their games; why can’t they get compensation for it. This argument is valid, but no matter what amount, free education is far more valuable than any financial amount. You’re talking about giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to
Tiffany Patterson argues “College football players are already receiving scholarships to pay for their tuition and it is unfair to other students who are juggling between jobs and school.”(Patterson) Although college football players work hard at playing football, it is unfair to other students who are not receiving scholarships and having football players paid will be even more unfair. According to Lauren Horne, the lead author of Bleacherreport, says “College football players cost universities and colleges lots of money and paying them will put the universities in even more financial debt. Universities and colleges spend about $42 million on football players who, except for an elite hundred, will never play in the NFL.”(Horne) Colleges are already have finance issues and if they pay all the players, their trouble will get worse. Rick Burton, the professor of sports management at Syracuse University explains “Student athletes who go to college are already receiving a fair amount of pay by receiving an education”(Burton) The athletes are being compensated for their time on the football field by the professors giving them an
Even the waterboy gets paid! NCAA football is a billion dollar a year empire, in which coaches, executives, school presidents, board members, athletic trainers, athletic directors, equipment managers, Waterboys, towel boys, ball boys, and even team mascots all receive a chunk of the revenue. Everyone gets paid except the athletes, who don’t receive a dime of the money. That’s because it’s against NCAA rules to pay college athletes with anything other than an athletic scholarship; anything else, and it’s deemed as an improper benefit, thus making an athlete ineligible if he/she were to accept. The NCAA defends its rule of “no-pay” by claiming that all its student-athletes are “amateurs” and not employees; therefore, they’re legally not compensated. The argument over whether student-athletes should be paid or not, is particularly unsettling within the sport of football, because NCAA football is the most popular and profitable sport of all college athletics. The NCAA’s discrepancy over whether it should pay its players or not, currently has the association fighting a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, who’s suing for compensation on behalf of former Division I football and men’s basketball players. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s use of student-athletes’ images and likeness for commercial purposes (PBS.org). In recent months the argument has been geared more towards whether current student-athletes should be paid or not, particularly football players, who like former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, provide the athleticism and entertainment that makes NCAA football the million dollar empire that it is. So, should college football players be paid?
The debate on whether college athletes should be paid to play is a sensitive controversy, with strong support on both sides. College athletics have been around for a long time and always been worth a good amount of money. This billion dollar industry continues to grow in popularity and net worth, while they continue to see more and more money come in. The student-athletes who they are making the money off of see absolutely none of this income. It is time that the student-athletes start to see some of this income he or she may by helping bring the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are many people who do not think this is in the best interest of the student-athletes or Universities, but that being said there are also many people who are in favor of the change.
substantial amount of money each year"(Johnson and Acquaviva np). Some athletes do not appreciate the gift of a scholarship given to them and wish for a salary instead. William Casement of Naples, a former philosophy professor, states, "Athletes are fortunate that they received their degrees or made substantial process toward it while competing athletically"(Casement and Haug np). Craig Greenlee, a free-lance sports journalist, claims, "The scholarship does not include spending money allowance to help cover incidental expenses such as laundry or bath items"(Greenlee 62). Why should student athletes receive spending money when students with academic scholarships do not even expect to get spending money. Athletes complain about not getting a salary for the sport they participate in, but they do not realize that education acts as another form of payment.
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
Daugherty, Paul. "College athletes already have advantages and shouldn't be paid." Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/paul_daugherty/01/20/no.pay/
College athletes juggle busy academic and practice schedules all throughout their stressful weeks, so why shouldn't they be compensated for their time dedicated to sports? NCAA rules strictly prohibits players from being paid for all the hard work they do to protect “amateurism”, but are you really an amateur putting in over 40 hours a week between practice and other activities? Although students earn a college scholarship, that doesn’t cover living expenses, and access to a degree at the end of their career, players should be paid because schools, coaching staffs and major corporations are profiting off their free labor.
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).
In the study the graduate student, Mary Willingham a learning specialist now found that some student athletes she had worked with and researched read at a middle school or lower reading level. Willingham explains that she encountered many athletes who faced many academic problems which she admits to helping them get around standards set by the NCAA. In the article written by Ganium, she reports that as CNN did extensive research they found that UNC-Chapel Hill wasn’t the only college guilty of admitting athletes whose academic abilities were less than college level twenty-one colleges to be