Donald R. Vroon's Summary: The Stupidity Of Sports

Do student athletes make the most of their opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education? Do they have the same academic success as those students that are not athletes? Are student athletes just “dumb jocks?” The answers to these questions might surprise you. Much research has been done to dispel the myth that athletes going to college are only there to play sports with little regard to their education. Programs have been created to assure that colleges and universities hold athletes to the same standards as the everyday student. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has decided that the “magic number” to put the “student” back into “student-athlete” is 925 (Hamilton).

In the article, Class and Cleats: Community College Student Athletes and Academic Success, Horton first examines the statistics of evidence showing college athletes and their underachievement. There are many instances of concern about college athletes and their poor grades having an affect of their athletic responsibilities, though this belief is usually denied due to a student always being a student before anything else. This study researches the idea of the way that college students and college athletes view success. Many college athletes tend to state that success is passing all courses and being more successful in their sport, rather than academics coming first (Horton, 2009).

Academic success is important for both high school and college athletes. To be eligible to participate, athletes must maintain a certain GPA. Student athletes that don’t make school a priority, not only miss out on playing time, but also fail to prepare themselves for the next step in their life. For high school athletes, that means prepare for college while for college athlete, it means preparing to enter the workforce. Although, both high school and

When looking at the topic of academic success of African American student athletes you need to look at all the factors involved. The problems that African American student athletes face are much the same that all African American students at higher education institutions face but the student athletes have other stressors that the normal students do not have. Such as In addition to the daily student routine (attending classes, going to the cafeteria, and participating in social events), student athletes also have their sport-related activities (practicing every day, visiting the athletic trainer for injury treatment, traveling for away games, studying team plays) (Watt, Moore 2001).

Moreover, college athletes have shown a poor academic success rate in past few years, in brief. Their academic performances were significantly low due to the distraction caused by athletic programs. Athletics are not only a distraction for athletes, but also for institutions which are holding these athletic programs. “The low graduation rates among athletics, particularly in sports like football and basketball, are alarming, although there is strong evidence that this problem is endemic to the entire academic enterprise” (“College”). Average outcome GPA of an athlete is way lower than that of a normal student in general. Missing classes regularly, missing assignments, and missing exams have been the reasons for these poor academic performance rates. Daily practices and tournaments are the reason for them to miss their academics. Another side of this argument is that athletes are given unfair advantages in academics unlike other students. They were given excessive grade changes and extra points to maintain their athletic eligibility. This situation degrades the quality of academic programs and it debases

Jolley, D. (2009). Academic Achievement Is Improving for College Athletes. In C. Watkins, Sports and Athletes (pp. 71-78). Detroit: Greenhaven Press.

When high school students that play high-profile sports are applying for college, they have nearly a thirty percent advantage in getting admitted compared to non-athletes in the pool of applicants, despite having SAT scores that are around one hundred points lower than average. A study collected from football and basketball players at the University of North Carolina found that nearly sixty percent of these students could only read between a fourth- and eighth-grade level with ten percent only able to read as well as a third-grade student. This culture has been cultivating for several years. During the first intercollegiate game documented between Rutgers University and Princeton University in 1869, it is said that four of the players on the winning team (Rutgers) were failing classes. Nonetheless, this Rutgers and Princeton game is idolized. Athletes are conditioned to believe if personal physical performance is high enough, then expectations for academic performance will be lower. This ideology proves to carry on into many other aspects of the players’ life, including the judicial

Robert Lipsytes categorizes sports as distorted, and manipulative for all ages. He states that sports are something that has damaged (and will continue to damage) society psychologically and even physically. First reading through Lipsytes essay, I thoroughly agree with points he gives. Concussions formed by head on collisions harm seasoned athletes even after their careers are ended. Social groups of elite athletes and those deemed nerdy or week are set against each other early on in grade school and onward (par 6). Even today, Instagram models and celebrities show off their bodies and make millions off of propaganda (although some say their products do actually work miracles) that is geared towards those who aren’t athletic- basically forming

Despite the many stereotypes that are connected with being a student athlete, student athletes in general are held to much higher standards by their institutions. Before a prospective student athlete even enters college, they are made fully aware of the academic standings and requirements of the college they choose. Although the academic requirements vary from college to college, the standards are still held high for all student athletes. The transition into college can be exceptionally difficult especially for the

     In the US, there are four major sports; football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Out of the four, hockey gets the least amount of respect. This is something that bothers me as hockey player and fan, and it also bothers other hockey fans around the country. They way that hockey is covered in the newspapers, on television, and not just professional hockey. It goes the same for college hockey and also high school hockey.

Sports and the general physical activities have been associated with a plethora of benefits. Not so much in correlation with education though. The debate on sports and academic performance relates as to whether sports affect academic performance positively or negatively. Mostly, academics, especially in high school and colleges, require an enormous time commitment. In the same way, sports demand time commitment. Apparently, academics and sports run linearly and either would consume the time of the other. Such would be the argument put forth by the claimants of the negative effects of sports on academic performance. The opponents to the positive correlation of sports and academic performance ground their arguments largely on the time commitment that the two require claiming that sports would consume a student’s time for study hence affecting their academic performance. Proponents of a positive correlation between sports and academic performance summon an extensive range of evidence showing that students who participate in sports perform well in academics. The proponents’ arguments are fetched from the proven benefits of exercise which improve a student’s overall well-being and motivate their academic performance. Opponents would, however, argue that the studies that find athletes and sports persons good at academics do not show how such correlations occur in that other factors could be the actual causes of the correlation and not sports in themselves. Regardless, opponents to the claim that sports affect academic performance positively cannot deny that sports affect the overall well being of any human being. As such, there is no denying that sports affect academic performance positively where a balance among the two is maintained.

The dedication and self-motivation required to balancing schoolwork and practice is the most difficult part of being a student-athlete. I find that being a student-athlete plays out to be much harder than most people think. It’s very difficult especially at the beginning of the year, when it finally hits you that you’re growing up and finally have to do your own laundry. You’re not only getting your-self situated as far as classes go, but also meeting new people. You have to balance all the new tasks in your life as well as starting new relationships.

     In the wide world of sports, teams will try and find a way to better market themselves in the nation to make more revenue. There are many ways to market your team but in the newer generation teams have been taking a different approach. Most teams will advertise there big sports star in trying to have people buy there gear, buy tickets, or simply support their team. But the most effective way to market your team is getting to the kids first. In advertising for a younger generation, you will tie the kids in more at an earlier age and hopefully will stay with the team throughout the years.

type of person to the same level, which allows for them to integrate with each other

In the unbridled win taken by the West Coast Eagles and their many fans over Adelaide Crows at Domain Stadium has undoubtedly secured the Eagles a top 8 place, granting them one more chance to take home the premiership.