College athletics are a big business, generating $1 billion in revenue in 2017. It’s not surprising, therefore, that football and basketball players are treated quite differently from their classmates (“It’s naïve to think college athletes have time for school,” the conversation.com).
Only in the U.S. is this the case. Other countries make academics the No. 1 priority. As a result, the media have exposed a series of scandals ranging from fraudulent classes, to unethical tutoring, to administrative stonewalling. There is simply too much money on the line to expect anything different.
Athletes are shortchanged by this travesty because they fail to get a college education while they are exploited. Only a small handful of them ever get into the National Football League or the National Basketball Association. Since that is so, it’s time to pay them a portion of the revenue they generate for their schools. That would be far more honest than the present charade.
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How about college athletes who play in sports that are neither profitable for the university nor contribute significantly to the university’s general reputation? Do they get paid?
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Labor Lawyer: If water polo and hockey, for example, generated big income for colleges and universities, they would alo be treated differently than their non-athletic classmates.
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It was my personal experience that participating in college sports as a second-tier athlete kept me healthy and inspired me to improve academically. It was fun, and the positive habits have lasted a lifetime. I know that’s still the typical case.
What Walt describes is the exploitation of top recruits in money-making sports programs where the trade-off is a possible diploma in exchange for a certain training regime, and the likelihood of injuries. Few such athletes entertain delusions of Pro careers.
Unmentioned is the most blatant scam that everyone seems to think is normal and acceptable. Tune in any televised Division I football game, especially a pair of teams from the dominant South Eastern Conference, like Alabama or Georgia, and compare the athletes on the field to the students and other spectators in the stands. What obvious difference do you notice?
Me, I don’t notice any difference, because I’m so enthralled with the spectacle of a 250-pound linebacker crashing full-speed head-to-head into a 250-pound fullback. Sure, there are multiple concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, but they will have glorious memories for the rest of their lives. Well, actually, they won’t remember it because of dementia and stuff, but … Touchdown!
After a hard week of tearing down Civil War memorials, enlightened progressive students deserve a day off to relax and be entertained by the unpaid descendants of their former slaves.
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Lancer to Bruin: Intramural athletics and second-tier athletics are quite different from football and basketball. They provide a much needed balance to studying. On a larger note, it’s interesting that universities abroad don’t feel they are shortchanging students by not having athletic play such a large role in the education process.
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