College Athletes Should Be Paid

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As former president Barack Obama once said “money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.” For student athletes, it is not allowed to make a difference. That is the way it should be, money shouldn’t make the difference in a college athletes decision and life. Although college athletes risk their bodies and careers for their schools everyday, they do not get paid to do so and I believe that is the way it should be. College athletes often get scholarships to their schools and go for free or for a deep discount which is a reward in itself. Paying college athletes would change the dynamic of college sports. Players will no longer go where they think would be best for them, but where they can get the most money. If college athletes got …show more content…

They are putting their skills and their bodies at risk every time due to the possibility of career ending injuries that can occur at any moment by chance. These students require their bodies to create something for themselves. They come to the schools for that reason and they plan on leaving the schools for that reason. If something goes wrong, that can ruin their career and ultimately their life. Athletes should be paid because they are playing the sport, bringing in money for the school by drawing crowds to the games and they are still participating and giving their all for the sport, just for a chance to go pro. Athletes everyday risk the fact that they can get injured before they graduate and have a chance of making money. “Athletes are putting their bodies on the line, they are doing so voluntarily. No one is forcing them to participate”(Welch and Marshall). The chance of an athlete getting injured in college is different for each sport, but the chance is too great to risk. This shows that college athletes deserve to be paid because they can get injured in college and throw everything away before even making a single dollar. Often Athletes only have the sport going for them so they need it to make money. Allen Iverson for example, as I mentioned earlier, always hated school and never cared about his grades. He barely graduated and if it weren't basketball, who knows where he would be today. However, Playing sports in college is a gift. It is a privilege and college athletes play for a chance of going pro one day. They go through college for that chance and they don't need to get paid for that. After all it is a game. “College athletes should recognize that the opportunity they have to play in college is something that millions of people dream of and never achieve. Playing in college should be done for the love of the game, after all, that’s what

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