Argument for Paying College Athletes
Argument for Paying College Athletes Stephen Elting Mercy College
Have you ever heard of a business that made billions of dollars, yet did not pay their employees? Seems pretty remarkable doesn’t it? Well this business is known as the NCAA. According to an article in the New York Times, the NCAA made $770 million from just the three-week Men’s Basketball Tournament, but how much did the athletes who participated in said tournament receive? If you said zero then you would be correct. The athletes that poured their blood, sweat and tears into practice everyday and into the 30 plus game regular season did not see a dime. It is hard to fathom how an industry of this size can make so much money, yet not allow the athletes that help them make that money see any dividends. Being a college athlete myself, I have lived the struggle of trying to maintain grades, while going to practice and games during the week. Imagine trying to keep a job during this hectic schedule. It is hard for college athletes to find extra money to get a pizza or go see a movie. It is especially hard for athletes coming from tough backgrounds. Two out of every five Division I athletes come from single parent homes and athletics are their only opportunity to provide a future for themselves and their families. It is not easy for these students to get jobs because their schedules are already full. For example, many division I football teams practice twice a day. A day for a division I football player could look like this: practice-6 a.m., class-9 a.m., class-11 a.m., and practice-2 a.m. By the time they are done with the second practice of the day their day is practically over. They still have to eat dinner and possibly do homework. This leaves no time to get even a part-time job. It also raises the question of how these athletes obtain extra spending money? If you are an athlete like Johnny Manziel, who
Have you ever heard of a business that made billions of dollars, yet did not pay their employees? Seems pretty remarkable doesn’t it? Well this business is known as the NCAA. According to an article in the New York Times, the NCAA made $770 million from just the three-week Men’s Basketball Tournament, but how much did the athletes who participated in said tournament receive? If you said zero then you would be correct. The athletes that poured their blood, sweat and tears into practice everyday and into the 30 plus game regular season did not see a dime. It is hard to fathom how an industry of this size can make so much money, yet not allow the athletes that help them make that money see any dividends. Being a college athlete myself, I have lived the struggle of trying to maintain grades, while going to practice and games during the week. Imagine trying to keep a job during this hectic schedule. It is hard for college athletes to find extra money to get a pizza or go see a movie. It is especially hard for athletes coming from tough backgrounds. Two out of every five Division I athletes come from single parent homes and athletics are their only opportunity to provide a future for themselves and their families. It is not easy for these students to get jobs because their schedules are already full. For example, many division I football teams practice twice a day. A day for a division I football player could look like this: practice-6 a.m., class-9 a.m., class-11 a.m., and practice-2 a.m. By the time they are done with the second practice of the day their day is practically over. They still have to eat dinner and possibly do homework. This leaves no time to get even a part-time job. It also raises the question of how these athletes obtain extra spending money? If you are an athlete like Johnny Manziel, who
References: Dirlam, Z. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1588301-theres-no-crying-in-college-the-case-against-paying-college-athletes Nocera, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Remy, D. (2012). Why the New York Times ' Nocera is wrong. NCAA News, 5. Arian Foster admits in documentary he took money at Tennessee - College Football - SI.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130920/arian-foster-documentary-comments-about-being-paid-at-tennessee/ NCAA won 't budge on paying college athletes - ESPN. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/9682086/ncaa-budge-paying-college-athletes