Student athletes can be the heart and soul of colleges with top-rated teams. Examples of such schools are UCLA, USC and Notre Dame. Students are often recruited from their high schools, and later recruited to play professional sports. In order to recruit these athletes to formulate the best teams, schools need to have something to offer; after all, a phenomenal player will receive offers from many schools, and these schools must be prepared to compete for the top athletes. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletes Association) has specific rules and regulations for the recruitment and treatment of student athletes, and these rules allow for many incentives and advantages, including:
v free equipment and apparel items from manufacturers under certain conditions;
v specified transportation, misfortune, celebratory and other expenses incidental to their athletics participation;
v arranged employment by a member institution after completion of the student-athlete’s senior year in high school.
The NCAA does not allow for:
v actual payment as a salary for playing sports;
v privileges in regard to academics: they must keep up a passing GPA;
v any compensation that is not permitted for an athlete of amateur status.
Arguments in favor of privileges for student athletes
There is often a great deal of resentment toward athletes and the institutions which give them special privileges. After all, they are just students; they don’t deserve to be treated differently. The truth is that these students are different. Their ability to play a sport and play it well results in increased revenues for the schools in terms of admissions fees for games, merchandise sales, and increased interest in applying to the school. Those athletes who go on to play professional sports will do so while representing their college. This, too, will lead to increased interest in admissions and thus, increased revenue. While generating this revenue, the NCAA rules forbid the students from being paid outright for their participation in sports, though they are allowed financial assistance. Without certain privileges, student athletes have no incentive to play for a college team; if an athlete is talented enough, he or she may be recruited to play for a professional team right out of high school.
This was the case for Kobe Bryant, of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was recruited to play for the basketball team straight out of Lower Merion High School in Pennsylvania. Had Bryant played for a college team, he not only would have earned a degree, but would have assisted the college greatly. However, it made no sense to go to college when he would be paid enormously to play basketball right out of high school. Should Bryant have received a devastating injury before earning top dollar, he would have been just another failed athlete lacking a college education. For this reason, athletes should be given privileges: they need to be encouraged to attend college and get a degree in order to have a backup plan as well as an alternative for when they retire.
Students in increasing numbers are dropping out of college and even high school in order to pursue a professional sports career. This was the case with Bobby Convey, who signed a contract to play soccer. As he has not yet finished high school, “he has been hitting the books since he left home, with special tutors in math, English, public speaking and (given pro athletes’ salaries) finance. He will test for his GED this summer.” (Simmons, 2001) Convers, like many athletes, will trade his education and a necessary period of maturation for a quick dollar. Convers, like many younger athletes, are in fact too young to legally sign a contract and must have their parents do the honors. If they were permitted to be paid to play for a college team, these athletes would be less likely to jump into the adult world of professional sports before they’re ready.
Athletes often receive scholarships for college; the right to do so was outlined in the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 (36 U.S.C.A. § 391). While the goal of the act was to outline the differences between professional and amateur athletes, a by-product of this act was to specify the compensation an amateur, college athlete could receive and still retain the amateur status. The purpose of giving scholarships to athletes is simple: it is an incentive to get the athlete to play for a certain team. But is it fair, in light of the many students who may have higher grades and SAT scores? A free college education is a bargain in light of the revenue that these athletes bring to the schools; revenues that may allow the school to keep their costs down and avoid passing them on to the rest of the student body.
Occasionally, athletes may need leniency in due dates for papers as well as make-up opportunities for tests. Some may argue that this is unfair because other students don’t get the same privileges. The truth is that athletes are working full-time while going to school – the rigid schedule of practices and games often leaves little time for homework and studying.
The most convincing evidence about compensating student athletes comes from other students, those who are not athletes and have nothing to lose or gain by paying these athletes. A study published in 2001 by Raymond G. Schneider asked 458 college students if student athletes should be paid for their participation. The results were surprising, as 54% believed that student athletes should be paid for their participation. The reasons given for the payment were as follows:
Schneider, 2001
Arguments against privileges for student athletes
Professional athletes are often paid millions of dollars to play their chosen sport. While some, such as Tiger Woods, lead a low-key life which includes plenty of public service and charity work, others let the celebrity aspect go to their heads and commit crimes, spend at alarming rates, and become infamous womanizers. Our society tells them that this behavior is acceptable because of their celebrity status. The same tends to occur with student athletes. They are given scholarships which they may not earn on an academic level, special privileges that often include leniency in regard to their schoolwork, and they’re often treated like celebrities around campus. While some athletes are grateful for the additional privileges others become abusive.
A 1997 study found “that athletes play a greater role in some abusive behaviors than non-athletes and that modeling may be an important determinant of these behaviors.” (Chandler, 1999) The study found that these athletes were more likely to abuse: drugs, alcohol, women, their coaches and even complete strangers. There is no evidence that these athletes receive effective counseling for these problems or that the problem stops upon graduating college and leaving student athletics behind. O.J. Simpson, a Heisman trophy winner, was accused of murdering his ex-wife and another man; Kobe Bryant was accused of rape before the accuser dropped the charges (apparently in exchange for a civil litigation settlement), and many athletes have been known to have fights and tantrums during the game.
Athletes are a unique group; their very presence on a college campus is predicated on their performance in a sport. The privileges that come with the sport aren’t enough; they need increasing amounts of attention and adoration. When they don’t receive what they feel is their due, they might take it by force. While the campus in the study had a 2% population of student athletes, they found that 20% of sexual assault cases involved athletes. In addition, almost half of all male student athletes were involved in the physical or verbal abuse of other students (Chandler, 1999). Clearly, many athletes don’t appreciate the opportunity they’ve been given. They don’t understand that they are not gods, that they are not entitled to more than they’ve earned.
A 2003 article by Teresa B. Fletcher, et. al., found that student athletes were under a great deal more pressure than the average student to perform well not only in the classroom, but within their given sport as well.
Student-athletes’ success in college and their emotional well-being are linked intimately with success in their sport; thus, success is often defined as winning and playing at a consistently high level. Athletes experience significant disappointments and fears when their team has key losses or when they perform poorly; among the athlete’s fears are the fear of losing the opportunity to compete because of injury, fear of being cut from the team, or fear of being forced to retire from sports (Fletcher, 2003)
While one might look at the above statement as an excuse for the athletes’ unacceptably abusive behavior, the truth is that many students shouldn’t be athletes in the first place, much less be given privileges that they can’t handle or appreciate. While the NCAA outlines policies related to the athletes sports and academic performance as well as the benefits to which they are entitled, it does not present a guideline for determining if a student has the maturity and stability to handle the pressures that come with being such a visible member of the student body.
My perspective on college athletes is, necessarily, from the perspective of an individual who got into college on academic merit. I considered concentrating on sports, but I felt it would take too much time away from my studies. Therefore, I studied hard, got good grades and a decent SAT score in order to get into college. I didn’t get a cushy scholarship, nor am I the adored member of a sports team who misses class, has other students to take notes for me, and can schedule tests at my leisure. Rather, I turn in papers (such as this one) when they’re due, and study for the test in order to be prepared to take it on the day that it is given. Clearly, I do not support giving special privileges to student athletes. In spite of my view, these privileges are given all the time. According to William C. Friday in his article, “Athletics vs. Academics”:
Consider as an example some simple statistics: 57 out of 106 Division I-A institutions (54 percent) had to be censured, sanctioned or put on probation for major violations of NCAA rules in the 1980s. In the 1990s, 58 out of 114 Division I-A colleges and universities (52 percent) were similarly penalized.
In spite of these penalties, violations continue to occur as universities treat their athletes like gods and their hard-working non-athletes as non-entities. Academics for athletes is considered an eligibility issue and little more. In other words, playing sports is merely an excuse for the athletes’ presence on campus, they are taking classrooms and resources away from students who will need to use their degrees when they graduate from college. It isn’t fair and it does not give due credit to the hard-working academics.
Athletics should be considered an extra-curricular activity like any other. While it does bring in revenue for the school, the purpose of going to college is to get an education that will help us in the real world. I know that I have done that; what I don’t know is this: can the professional athletes who make infinitely more than I ever will spell their own names? Do they know how to write a persuasive essay? Can they handle their own finances, or will they need to leave it in the hands of a manager who might rob them blind? Most importantly, when I graduate from college and I’m looking for a job, will they hire me? They certainly will be able to afford my salary.
Works Cited:
Chandler, S. B., Johnson, D. J., & Carroll, P. S. (1999). Abusive Behaviors of College Athletes. College Student Journal, 33(4), 638.
Fletcher, T. B., Benshoff, J. M., & Richburg, M. J. (2003). A Systems Approach to Understanding and Counseling College Student-Athletes. Journal of College Counseling, 6(1), 35+.
Friday, W. C. (2001, November/December). Athletics vs. Academics. Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Higher Education, 2, 30+.
(2006). Kobe Bryant Info Page. Retrieved December 4, 2006, from NBA.com Web site: http://aol.nba.com/playerfile/kobe_bryant/index.html?nav=page
Schneider, R. G. (2001). College Students’ Perceptions on the Payment of Intercollegiate Student-Athletes. College Student Journal, 35(2), 232.
(1998). THOMAS: Library of Congress. Retrieved December 4, 2006, from Library of Congress Web site: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/T?;report=sr325;dbname=105;
