Should Student Athletes Be Paid Essay

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Mason Lenz Joel Jenkins English 10 23 May, 2024. Why Student Athletes Should Be Exempt from Some Assignments Welcome all, today, I stand before you to bring to light a common point that affects many student-athletes attempting to balance school work and extracurricular sports. As we all know, being a student-athlete is not just about playing sports; it requires dedication, discipline, and time management skills that are often overlooked. I have played a sport almost every season of high school, and each season required me to commit a large portion of my time to that sport. Training schedules, games, and competitions consume most of my time after school, leaving little time for studying or doing assignments. Trying to balance these sports …show more content…

However, the overwhelming demands of their sports can interfere with their academic performance. A study by the Journal of Higher Education found that student-athletes who received academic accommodations, such as assignment extensions, performed better academically and had higher graduation rates (Comeaux & Harrison, 2011). Meaning, that the extra time and help they received made their academic life more bearable when adding in all of the time spent focusing on that sport. Something as simple as math homework can feel like a summative project after a high-intensity practice or game. A solution we could implement from The University of Michigan is academic support tailored to the needs of student-athletes, including assignment flexibility. This approach by the University of Michigan has led to higher GPAs and improved academic outcomes for their athletes (Wolverine Athletics, 2020). I know this is true because the time frame for some of my assignments is not met, and the extra day or two I take to submit that assignment is extremely helpful and worth the small red label of late on Canvas, all the while, sparing me from the pressing thoughts of needing to turn in the assignment on the exact minute its …show more content…

These individuals bring immense value to their schools through their athletic achievements. In return, it is only fair that schools support them by providing a reasonable time frame that acknowledges their time commitment to those sports. For example, the state tournament last year for Girl’s Basketball brought lots of positives to the school district and athletics, and those athletes spent hours preparing for the game, traveling, and playing the games while they probably had assignments that they needed to complete. On a larger scale, schools like Stanford and UCLA have implemented policies that allow student-athletes to reschedule exams and extend assignment deadlines. These policies recognize the commitments of student-athletes and ensure they have a fair opportunity to succeed academically (Stanford Athletics, 2021). This would be a beneficial change to student-athletes academic performance and relieve some of the stress that is placed on them by coaches and