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Athletes or Employees

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Athletes or Employees
Athletes or Employees Student athletes receive scholarships for their skill set and ability to play at the collegiate level, while employees receive stability, income and benefits for their skill set and ability to contribute to the work place. Athletes as well as persons in the work force deal with adversity that directly affects there lives, yet only members of the workforce are rewarded with a source of income. It could even be said, athletes are under more pressure to perform due to not only their scholarship being on the line, but their higher education as well. Many of the athletes on large scholarships would not be able to continue their education at their respective schools if they were to be taken away. Because of the similarities between student athletes and peoples in the workforce there have been many discussions pertaining to college athletes being paid stipends, on top of the scholarships. These stipends would include 2,000 to 3,000 dollars per year and health benefits for the athletes. Student athletes should be paid stipends because they bring in millions of dollars of revenue and should be rewarded for it, athletes will then be able to afford the necessary entities to live a healthy life, these athletes are not able to have jobs, and they are already treated as employees. College athletics are the most popular events and programs that universities have to offer. According to ensbn.com, the average revenue from Division I-A college athletic program is close to 76 million dollars per year. This, along with television contracts and the athletic alumni who donate to new programs and facilities, creates over a billion dollars of revenue. Sport enthusiasts say that the universities are taking advantage of these student athletes by not paying them an acceptable amount for their contributions. Some may say that student athletes receive more than enough gifts and benefits for their skill set and contribution to their university. However according to


Cited: * http://assets.usw.org/ncpa/Findings.pdf * “Chambers, M. (2003, Sep 18). Brand endorses more aid to athletes. New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. D3-D3. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/92451396?accountid=8117” * "College Sports Revenue 2011: The List | Every Night Should Be Saturday Night." Every Night Should Be Saturday Night | Words about LSU Football. 15 Nov. 2011. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. http://www.ensbsn.com/2011/11/college-sports-revenue-2011-the-list/ * "The “Reasonable” Application of NCAA Playing and Practice Rules." Ice Miller LLP, Legal Counsel. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.” http://www.icemiller.com/enewsletter/NCAA_Playing_Practice_Rules.htm * Sack, A. (2008, Mar 07). Should college athletes be paid? The Christian Science Monitor, pp. 9-9. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/405570910?accountid=8117 * Michigan state university professors find student athletes don 't reap benefits of labor. (2011). Entertainment Close - Up, , n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/863716403?accountid=8117 * ’’What stipends might mean. (1986, Jul 25). New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. B9-B9. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/111054700?accountid=8117” * "Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?" The Sport Digest. United States Sports Academy. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. http://thesportdigest.com/archive/article/should-student-athletes-get-paid.”

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