Yes, college athletes (primarily football and basketball) help to bring in revenue to their respective institutions. Yes, these individuals are highly skilled and possess talent that a small percentage of the population has the ability to possess. However, paying said athletes to represent their university in the form of their sport, on top of their largely reduced (sometimes nonexistent) tuition fees, is absolutely ludicrous. The argument to do so is detrimental to the world of sports and our society in so many ways.
When the objective of going to college is analyzed, the main goal is to receive an experience. A non-athlete college student receives the experience by going to class, meeting new friends, living independently, exploring new geographic areas, becoming involved in extracurricular activities, and essentially an unlimited amount of activities. Now, a student-athlete is able to do all the things a non-athlete college student can do, plus so much more. They are able to train in a sport they (hopefully) love, travel across the country (sometimes the globe), perform their sport in front of millions of fans, etc. Additionally, they are afforded the opportunity to receive additional academic tutoring, utilize special accommodations like textbook rental, and other benefits the general student population is not entitled to. And to top it all off, many student-athletes pay less, sometimes nothing, for their college education. Why is a student-athlete who is training to be a professional in their sport any different than a student who is training to become a cardiologist?
I understand that not all student-athletes are soliciting to be paid in addition to the benefits listed above. However, for those that are as well as those fans that argue they should be paid, I ask, "why?" Are they not already paid in the form of tuition, benefits, and experience? In one light, they are gaining a greater experience than their full-paying student counterparts. Paying student-athletes only further perpetuates our society's motivation to work for, and only for, monetary gain. It also diminishes the value of sport across the globe. By engaging in this disgusting act, we are losing sight of what it means to participate in sport. And by participate, I am not excluding fans, supporters, and other stakeholders. Sport brings people together, at least it should. As for the athletes, they should see the value in representing their university, town, or team. They should find pride in this opportunity and recognize the power their performance has on so many "students" out there, not find pride in searching for a price tag.
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