Learning English Essay Example For Students

Learning English Essay For years, Division I athletes have been pouring their hearts out day after day, week after week, to protect the pride and tradition of their universities. With television contracts and shoe deals alone, the athletes are really bringing in the money and other forms of revenue. Sure, you can say that the typical athletes scholarship is enough to compensate, but are they? A true athlete plays the game simply because he loves it. When youre at the Division I level of sports, it is more or less a business and it is their job to make money for the school. Also, these athletes give up many freedoms. For a given number of hours per week, they give their blood, sweat, and tears just to play a sixty-minute game or run two times around a track. Take these factors and combine it with the athletes academic responsibilities, and its a lot to account for. When all is said and done, how much money does the athlete see? Well, aside from scholarshipszero. I mentioned earlier that intercollegiate athletics is more or less a business in itself. Let me break it down for you. A business has different departments; the owner, the management, and your employees at the bottom rung making everything run smoothly. The owners of course have provided the money for the company, the managers run the company, and the laborers perform the work. Ive never heard of a business that doesnt pay its employees. And of course no one would work for them if such a thing did exist. Most people think that an athlete should just be thankful for the education he receives in exchange for a few hours of practice. But an enormous amount of cash is being circulated within that school, at the athletes expense, which that athlete will never lay eyes on. Author and sports writer Steven Wulf says, They are required to put in long hours of hard work for next to nothing, in hostile conditions, always under intense scrutiny of their bosses. (Wulf) Of course this is a controversial topic, and there are obviously two sides to this argument: a side for and a side against the argument. It is true that student-athletes arent your typical college students. They are unable to deposit that measly check most us work toward outside academic duties. Time and physical constraints do not allow these individuals living in a fish bowl to actively pursue a part-time job. (Henry) Judy Runge, a coach for the womens basketball team at the University of Oregon said, I dont know that I even care for the idea because it professionalizes college sports. Why? The athlete is not asking for a yearly salary or weekly paycheck, but just a stipend or allowance. The only item that will make it professional would be making a college athlete to sign a contract saying if you perform X amount then we will pay you Y amount. I believe that Judy Runge explains the most common point of view of someone that really stands against college athletes being paid. I hate to say it, but her thoughts and her comment seem to be weak. My side of the argument of paying college athletes is far more superior and well supported with evidence. Mike Belloti, the head football coach at the University of Oregon says, You already subsidize athleticsits not going to make it anymore of a professional sport by giving them $100 per month to enable them to have a lifestyle thats not even the average of some students. (Henry) The average student can hold jobs and afford to experience the real college life, while the athlete spends his free time in the weight room or cramming for a final. According to NCAA rules, Section 2, Title V reads, It is a violation of the NCAA rules for athletes to accept money or gifts while intending to remain eligible. (NCAA) The NCAA is afraid that boosters and friends would offer athletes jobs, the possibility of a no show job. The Persian Empire Essay College should not be an arena for spoiled future millionaires, it should be a place to get an education. If you pay college athletes money, what kind of message does that send to an English major that is busting their butt to get an A? Why dont we pay them $500 a month.? (Pandoras) Comparing athletes to students is unfair. Its great that students are busting their rear end in the classroom as well, but do Nike and Reebok sponsor the student while studying. The university profits from the athletes; millions of dollars. To compare students to athletes is like comparing apples to oranges, no correlation. Theyre not the same. When was the last time an A student was sponsored by Nike and the school made millions? It never happened and Im very certain it never will. Im sorry for being so rude about the subject matter, but I like to call it as I see it. Whether its ethical or not, or whether it professionalizes college sports, the bottom line is that athletes juggle athletics with academics, while the average student makes his own money and enjoys it. Personally, I was brought up in a stable environment that was centered on morals and values. I was always taught to stand up for what I believe in, and for what I recognized was the right thing to do. My parents also taught me to be my own man, and to remember my family values in everything I do. My morals tell me that slighting someone of a credit or acknowledgement is wrong. Its demeaning and oppressive. To work without pay is simply wrong. It sounds so evil, but thats exactly what money is; sadistic in many senses. Did you know that the University of Michigan grosses over $20 million from football alone? In being able to formulate my own opinion for the student-athlete through research, I have become extremely sympathetic. Merchandise being sold with a specific athletes number on there, but yet that athlete doesnt touch any of that green; this bothers me. I cant lie; money is corrupting our society left and right, on every avenue in this country. So should they, or shouldnt they get paid? Some say yes, some say no. Just think of this: 6 days a week of enduring pains of tough workouts at practice, and later putting on your academic hat to fulfill education requirements. Of course, I believe the athletes should be paid; not because of the decision to play but because of rulings of the NCAA prohibiting athletes to hold jobs. How else do they make money? The athletes main accomplishments go unnoticed and the dedication to the school is unappreciated. The paying of athletes would not be a paycheck but rather a stipend for the entertainment and flash (money) that they bring along with them to the University. Bibliography Jones, p223; College Life Harry, P22; Deal with the money Word Count: 1778