Star Athlete's Status

In his article “The Shame of College Sports,” Taylor Branch (2011) describes how universities are focused on advancing and receiving money from major athletics and having star athletes, but how the universities are not caring for the “student athlete.” The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made college sports into an unmerited business. However, as years progress more athletes are getting smart and are taking the NCAA to court. The more students that challenges the rules by the NCAA and take them to court, the secrets and undermining values of the NCAA come out and the closer the NCAA comes to an end.

Many people believe that professional athletes are “above the law”. In reality, they are human beings like you and me who, no matter what the circumstances, can and will be charged like an average person. The offense of the crime can certainly come into play on whether or not a professional athlete who commits a crime should be allowed to play again.

In 1995, several years after he stepped down as the NCAA’s executive director of 36 years, Walter Byers published Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Exploiting College Athletes. The title didn’t belie the book’s content. Among Byers’ confessions was the deception he sought in coining the well-worn phrase “student-athlete” to describe college athletes.

Their fellow sports personnel gets to indulge in this gargantuan amount of money made off them, while they do not even get a minuscule percent of it. According to Stanley Eitzen, in his article “College Athletes Should be Paid,” in the year 2000, some football coaches were paid a minimum of 1,000,000 dollars in compensation. Considering this staggering figure, it is almost impossible to fathom why athletes are not being compensated something, out of all the money they generate. As a result of this deprivation of financial support, some athletes end up violating school policies. There were reports of athletes who have accepted improper benefits from coaches, fans and “boosters.” According to Dan Wetzel, in his article “Chris Webber deserves apology from Michigan, NCAA for disassociation treatment,” Former Michigan State basketball player Chris Webber, accepted money from “team booster” Ed Martin which resulted in a “humiliating 10 year disassociation penalty.” There have even been instances when athletes sold their jerseys and championship rings. These incidents resulted in suspension and expulsion of student athletes and the firing of coaches. Most, if not all of these cases, could have been prevented if universities have stepped in, and provided the financial help their athletes needed.

It is the NCAA’s policy that no student athlete shall receive any special benefits or compensation in regard to their status as an athlete of a university. This basically means that no player can accept gifts or services with any special benefits from school or athletic personnel, or receive any benefits for outside entrepreneurship for reasons regarding their play. For example, a student athlete cannot sign a jersey with their number on it and exchange it for any type of compensation. However, over the past few years, many scandalous conspiracies of soliciting services to athletes for their commitment and play have surfaced. Due to the NCAA’s stance on this issue many of these violations have left athletics programs with sanctions that in reality are very unnecessary and hardly ever punish those who initially violated the rules. The fact is that the college athletics generates on average 10.5 billion dollars of revenue annually, and the NCAA organization alone, about 720 million annually. Of that 720 million that the NCAA accounts for, only 60 percent of that is returned to the Division I universities whose athletics accounted for almost all of it. The rest is dispersed into other funds such as championship games and the national office services, with a small amount being paid to division II and III schools. However, of that 60 percent paid back to the Division I schools, which amounts to approximately 430 million dollars, the majority is spent by the University on

Every year, thousands of student athletes across the world sign the NCAA’s 08-3A Form, also called the “Student-Athlete” form, which waives their right to receive money for the use of their name and image. Like many of us in this class, these college athletes devote their time to their academics while spending additional hours with training and practices throughout the day and receive no stipend in return. This 08-3A form defines college athletes as amateurs, who cannot receive payment for playing their desired sport. While their schools and coaches may make millions of dollars in salaries and endorsement deals and are the highest-paid public employees in many states due to their performances in their desired sport, these “amateurs” can never

“College Athletes for Hire, The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA’s Amateur Myth” written by Allen L. Sack and Ellen J. Staurowsky. In their book, the authors enlighten the reader on such issues as athletic scholarships, professionalism in college sports, and favoritism for athletes as well as many more important legal, and ethical issues that we as a country need to address. In this paper I will not do a standard book report by simply regurgitating the information I read in their book.

The ugly truth behind the money machine that is college sports is that, every year, college athletes are deceived by the institutions the compete for into making them millions of dollars, with relatively little in return. Athletes are said to be given a chance to attend college and to attain a free college degree. However, research has shown that this is not completely true for two reasons. For one, the student athlete will spend most of their time in preparation for competition. Secondly, what education the student athlete does receive hardly serves them outside of maintaining eligibility just so

“SLAVES OF BIG-TIME COLLEGE SPORTS” by D. Stanley Eitzen explains that college athletes are not being treated fairly and we need to change for the athletes best interest. First off, it states that players are exploited economically, making millions for their teams, but provided only with a subsistence wage of room, board, tuition, and books; they are controlled with restricted freedoms; they are subject to physical and mental abuse by coaches. Later in the text, it explains how “These rules reek with injustice. Athletes can make money for others, but not for themselves.” (Eitzen 3) This source will be used to describe and give examples of the opposing views and skewed image of these college athletes lives and privileges.

The court system may have allowed many of these players to walk away from very serious crimes with inadequate punishment while the NFL’s response did little to discourage criminal behavior. Because of this, the first part of the solution lies with the judicial system to begin holding players accountable to the same standards as the average American citizen. Michael Vick served just a year and a half behind bars in a state that routinely sentences individuals to five-year terms for the same crime (Humane Society). In the case of O.J. Simpson, a jury of his peers allowed him to walk out of a courtroom a free man despite compelling

Abstract:  Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.

This is backed up by the fact that many athletes themselves deny that they were or are “exploited” in college (40). More importantly, college athletes receive an expensive education which, for scholarship players, is free. They also get perks, including preferential treatment from some professors who may tell athletes “just show up in class and you’ll get a ‘C’ grade.”

“Giving star athletes preferential treatment doesn’t begin in college. It starts much younger. The coddling, the entourages, the brushing aside of academic requirements (OK – we’ll say it: cheating) …But we sure do master it by the time those athletes get through the

Personal conduct in the NFL, National Football League, is an issue that is starting to spiral out of control. Late September, 2014, “the league [had] suspended at least 20 players for actions including assault, substance abuse and use of performance-enhancing drugs” (White); this was only a few weeks into the regular season of play for the league. The NFL has grown enormously since it was founded on August 20, 1920 in Canton, Ohio. But, this league has become more and more lenient with its players and personnel. Many professional athletes in the NFL receive special treatment regardless of their improper actions, thus allowing them to elude the consequences and in turn setting a misleading example for their young fans. In order

Salaries, wages, and compensations have always been major and generally controversial topics in democratic America. And, with the rising popularity of college athletics, particularly football, compensation (or lack thereof) for college athletes has recently been a hot topic in American sports. While some of the debate stems from the similarity between responsibilities college athletes have to their programs and those of professionals, most of the issue involves the principles of amateurism. Recent “scandals” involving college athletes such as Terrelle Pryor, Johnny Manziel, and Todd Gurley have raised questions about the ethics of amateurism, particularly with regard to the NCAA organization. The issue is found in a very gray area, where there is most likely no definitive one-size-fits-all solution, but the resolution of this issue is one that will change and shape the future of college athletics across the national landscape.