When asked the question, “What should colleges do that they don’t do now?” I feel a good response would be to pay student athletes. I feel this way for a couple reasons, for one, college athletic programs make an outrageous amount of money that goes straight to the university. Another reason is, if the team is good enough it draws lots of attention to the university and it makes other students want to go to that school. And finally, students risk their lives playing everyday and if anything were to happen they may not be able to afford the medical bills.
First I will talk about the money that colleges make off of student athletes. Athletic programs for big universities make millions of dollars per game, and the players that the fans come to watch play don’t receive a dime of that money. When people go to a college football game they don’t go buy their ticket just to give the university money. They are buying their ticket to watch hopefully the future stars of the NFL. But that’s not how it works, the student athletes, who everyone paid to see don’t get any of that money. All of the coaches get paid lots of money the program director gets paid lots of money it would only be fair if the players got paid lots money. Plus, nobody pays to see the coaches or the program director; they pay to see the student athletes.
Next I will talk about the amount of attention that universities receive when they have a good athletic program. When a college has a really good athletic program more students tend to want to go to that school opposed to a school that doesn’t have a good program. For example, over these last few weeks Michigan who at the time was ranked number 5 in the country for football played an unranked Appalachian State. Nobody ever heard of Appalachian state before this game, but they pulled off what could have been one of the greatest upsets of college football history, and now I’m sure everyone in the country has heard of Appalachian state university. It made the news, announcers in the NFL were talking about it, and even broadcasters for major league baseball were talking about it. I don’t have any statistics because it’s still to early but I can almost guarantee that this year Appalachian states application for student enrollment is going to rise drastically.
Finally student athletes should be paid because they risk their lives every single time they go out on that field. Football players practice six days a week, in the summer and winter. Every year you hear of a student dying from a heat stroke or dehydration. Also, when students play during real games one wrong hit, or one wrong tackle and they could be injured or even possibly die. A perfect example is two weeks ago, a man named Kevin Everett played for the Buffalo Bills. He is 27 years old and he is going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life because he tried to tackle someone the wrong way. Doctors are saying that he is lucky to be alive. If that happens to a student and their family isn’t wealthy how are they going to pay the medical bills? Students should at least get a little money just for insurance reasons in case something does happen.
In conclusion, student athletes should be paid because believe it or not they really are what make or break the college. Plus, it keeps the other students who attend the university proud of their school.
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3 comments:
Totally disagree! I believe colleges and universities shouldn't pay athletes because it would start a frenzy throughout collegiate sports. If a high school student shows his/her athletic ability, he is getting paid by receiving an athletic scholarship. Years ago I had a family member receive an athletic scholarship to Duquense university which is a private Roman-Catholic university in the Pittsburgh area. The criteria for selection is very particular. The student's overall record is looked at SATs/ACTs, Class Standing, Academic Grades, Clubs, etc... To place money in the hands of schools would kill the collegiate arena in most of the sports, if not all. I believe a sound education is a gift which goes a long way in life. Not everyone will make it to the NBA, NFL or MLB, you will have your education to fall back on. The Alumni grants large donations to colleges and universities to obtain the best (in their eyes).
I think the writer here makes a few very good points. I myself don't like or follow sports at all, but this article strikes me as interesting because it does make me think about an athelete's welfare, especially an athelete that isn't getting any benefits for his/her efforts to accel in their forte.
I personally don't fully agree with the point that the writer makes, but the essay is effective in allowing the reader to take a second look at the athelete's side of the fence.
Colleges should NOT pay their student-athletes. While it is true that the athletes bring in millions of dollars to the schools they play for, is that they are playing at the amateur level. Their main reason for being at a particular school is as a STUDENT. If colleges started paying athletes to come to their schools, it would soon become a giant biding war for the nation's top high school athletes. Students should choose a school they want to attend, not whichever one gives them the biggest contract. The truth is, a lot of students ARE paid to join teams -- a lot of them get free rides and enjoy university-level educations. I do believe you make a good point about how these students are at risk for injury while participating in sports, but they shouldn't be paid because of that. Maybe schools should pay for medical bills for an injury that occurs while playing on that team. But then again, athletes are making a choice to play their sport, and they are fully aware of the risk involved. Students shouldn't be paid to play at the amateur level.
Side note:
Fortunately, Kevin Everett will be able to walk again. Thanks to quick thinking by doctors, they managed to protect his spinal cord from permanent damage by trying an experimental treatment almost immediately after the collision occured. He is expected to make a full recovery. Modern medicine really is amazing.
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