preview

College Athletes: Amateurs or Full Time Employees

Best Essays

Ever since college students started playing sports, back in 1879 when Harvard played Yale in the first collegiate sports game, the question of whether college athletes should be paid was addressed. From that point on athletes, coaches, and college administrators have brought forward points agreeing or disagreeing with the notion of paying college students. The students argue that they deserve to be paid due to the revenue that they bring for the college and because of the games they play and the championships they win. At first the idea of paying college athletes was out of the question, but now the argument has gone from a simple yes or no to a heated debate. Since college athletes are given a free education, they should not also be paid. …show more content…

Harker said, “On some campuses the pursuit of athletic dominance has eroded the ideal of the student athlete.” The Delaware coach explains how those student athletes already face problems being students before athletes and he believes that if athletes were to be paid it would distract the students even more. In sum, Harker is stating that athletes do not have to sacrifice their free education to reach their full potential as college athletes. College is a time where young adults learn the values of responsibility and realize that education will have a more positive impact on their future than sports.
One argument supporting the payment of college athletes is that colleges bring in millions of dollars every year, yet the athletes see none of the money (Ford). People who support this argument say that these players work tirelessly throughout the season to win championships which then help the college receive money, and then the players receive no payment for their work. Kenneth Cooper, the author of Should College Athletes Be Paid? quoted Robert McCormick, an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board. McCormick argues that “there are more demands put on these young men than any employee of the university. They are laboring under very strict and arduous conditions, so

Get Access