Sports and Education: Collegiate Sport

The question that has been surrounding the sports world is whether or not we should pay college athletes? This has been a headlining topic of discussion specifically today, some argue that athletes should receive compensation given the large revenue they produce, while others claim that if we paid athletes it would jeopardize the integrity of school sport.

One thing I found interesting that was noted in the article from The Atlantic: The Shame of College Sports, is that “We profess outrage each time we learn that yet another student-athlete has been taking money under the table. But the real scandal is the very structure of college sports, wherein student-athletes generate billions of dollars for universities and private companies while earning nothing for themselves” I believe that this perfectly highlights how this issue is masked and altered to make athletes look like the quote on quote bad guys and not the other way around.

However, even though this occurring, the NCAA holds the reigns of collegiate sports and it seems that they will continue to issue suspensions and fines anytime they are getting cut out of the so-called “deal” and frame the issue in this manner. There are many famous NCAA investigations; one popular incident was with the University of Southern California and Reggie Bush (now running back for the Detroit Lions), where he was found guilty for receiving large sums of money to play football. When sanctions were released Reggie was casted as the villain to such an extreme that he ended up surrendering his Heisman trophy. Also The University of Southern California received punishment as well, as noted in the ESPN article NCAA delivers postseason ban USC received a “two-year bowl ban, four years' probation, loss of scholarships and had to forfeit an entire year's games”.

All in all when I consider the risk these athletes take on it seems rationale to me to pay them for the value that they bring to a team. Yet, with individual beliefs aside, what is evident is that such programs are taking advantage of the student body for financial gain; however by categorizing these individuals as “student athletes” it has allowed such organizations to continue they efforts unscathed. The question is whether this will last? Or will we see a change in the future?