Summary: College Athletes Should NOT Be Paid

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"There are hungry nights that I go to bed starving." says Shabazz Napier, a champion basketball player for the University of Connecticut. "There 's hungry nights and I 'm not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities" ("Fox Sports"). Many student athletes share Napier 's struggle. Chris Conley, a football player for the University of Georgia, attests that if he needs clothes or shoes, he has to sacrifice his food money and face going hungry (Aued). One would think that given these unacceptable yet commonplace problems, the universities simply couldn 't afford to help their players obtain basic needs, right? Wrong. In 2013, The University of Georgia had nearly 100 million dollars in revenue, 73.9 million dollars in uncommitted …show more content…

Sports reporter, Kate Murphy, succinctly summarizes an overwhelming standpoint that many people seem to cite in her article "Privilege, not a job: College athletes shouldn 't be paid." First, she stipulates herself that student-athletes technically fit the criteria of hardworking employees. She also acknowledges that it is nearly impossible for athletes to balance a job while adhering to their strict schedules. However, because student-athletes are "living the dream" and are supposed to drink up the passion and sacrifices of their game, seeking compensation is grotesque and un-sportsman like. This argument rides on the coattails of "purity." Because money corrupts, student-athletes shouldn 't expect it or want it and should simply play their game out of love...whilst providing entertainment to the masses and technically earning millions of dollars for TV networks, colleges and the NCAA. While one could argue overly the ludicrous and truly unethical contradictions of the argument "play for free, play for purity," that would dignify the belief that student pensions are the only answer to the current system; which is not true. There are countless flaws with the current system and just as many solutions, only one of which involves universities handing out a biweekly check to their …show more content…

If the NCAA was changed, or even abolished, the universities of today would most likely fix the issue of poor college athletes, whether they meant to or not. Universities are typically unabashed to admit that they are indeed running a businesses. They want elite teams that will not only earn the school a large income, but bring them to bowl games and championships. Colleges would have little to no issue with giving student-athletes the benefits of employees if the realm of collegiate sports became a free market. In fact, such a reform guarantees a competitive market to insure that college-players