The question as to whether or not college athletes should be paid has been brought to more light in the last few years.
Players such as Cam Newton, Reggie Bush and Johnny Manziel have been at the forefront of college atheletes scrutinized for breaking NCAA guidelines. No evidence was found on Manziel, so the only consequence was being suspended for the first half of Texas A&M’s season opener against the University of Rice.
Initially, I used to believe that college athletes should be paid because of the revenue college sports bring in and because of the time constraints student athletes have. Now I look at it and think that paying college athletes would not only be fiscally irresponsible, but it also would create more issues among athletes.
Last week when I interviewed some of the Nicholls students, coaches and athletes, Nicholls Defensive Coordinator Jeremy Atwell said that paying athletes would “monopolize” sports. I think he hit the nail on the head. Athletes would generally go with who is going to pay them the most money. Smaller budget universities like Nicholls may not even have athletic programs if that were the case. The rich would get richer, while the smaller universities would fall by the wayside.
Then there are the logistics of the situation. How could the system be orchestrated? Do you have a salary cap, minimum wage, or the same budget for all schools? It would just be utter chaos trying to figure out a well-thought-out system for wage scales.
In addition to scholarships and essentially getting an education for free, athletes also receive meals and clothing for free. Junior defensive back Byron Cobb said that even a smaller budget school like Nicholls travels and gets treated “first class.” So essentially, what this becomes is a sense of self-entitlement to those athletes who believe they should get paid.
Some people have made arguments that college athletes should be paid because they can’t always get jobs and are struggling financially. Welcome to the life of many students who are not athletes, and who I might add, are usually working to pay for their education. Meanwhile, plenty of athletes get that opportunity for free.
Math instructor Sherill Dupre brought up a great point by saying “student athletes are not professionals. If you begin to give them paychecks, they become professional.”
That is a very unique approach and one that I completely agree with. The fact of the matter is that student athletes are not professional, nor should they be. Those who say they should be paid and happen to defend athletes like Manziel sometimes use the excuse “oh, he is just a kid” when they don’t follow the rules. Every time that phrase gets uttered, it makes me cringe. There is no excuse for not following the rules.
I mentioned Cam Newton, Reggie Bush and Johnny Manziel as athletes who broke, or were accused of breaking, the rules for gifts or money. One may argue that it is a small percentage of athletes who do break the NCAA/team guidelines whether it is performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), accepting gifts or even staying out past curfew. However, I wouldn’t be so sure. I feel that the scale of how popular the athlete is has to be looked at. I don’t think the NCAA would waste their time and money pursuing an investigation of a Football Championship Subdivision player as they would for a star like Manziel. The reason being that not many people will care or hear about an FCS player breaking a rule, but if the NCAA doesn’t pursue a case like Manziel, the image of the organization gets questioned.
This brings me to the next point: Are they even mature enough to be paid?
Reverting back to the point of being treated first class, these athletes get treated well and yet somehow find ways to screw things up. Some of them bounce back, some don’t. The payoff for those elite athletes is pretty hefty once they reach the NFL.
Former Louisiana State University Heisman candidate Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off LSU for multiple failed drug tests. He managed to get drafted in the fourth round by the Arizona Cardinals. Bottom line, he almost threw it all away because he could not keep his hands off the marijuana. A more extreme case is Aaron Hernandez, first round talent, but fell to the fourth round in the NFL draft. He had questions about his character. Now he has been indicted on murder charges and the future is not looking bright. He may spend the rest of his life behind bars after getting a $40 million contract.
The reality is many college athletes are raised in inner city areas, which are notoriously known for foul play and violence. The problem is that many of them can never get away from it, like Hernandez. He struggled with gang related issues and grew up with an abusive father.
These athletes get charged with things like assault or battery and the behavior is accepted. Jeremy Hill was voted back on LSU by his teammates. The problem when money is thrown in to the equation, now you are giving even more power to these already immature student athletes who feel they are above the law.
This starts in the homes of these athletes, continues to high school and through college, and on to the NFL.
I see it at Nicholls with some athletes. There are a select few that walk around and have the pristine sense of self-entitlement. They either complain about a teacher, coach or another player because they feel this person is holding them back.
So should they be paid? The answer to that is absolutely not.
Enough athletes already feel they are above the law and take no responsibility for their actions. You want to be professional, then act professional. Lay off the reefer, follow the rules and do your schoolwork, and stop pointing fingers and take some responsibility. For many of these student athletes who already act out of line and portray the stereotype of gangsters, now you would just make most of them gangsters with money.
There are plenty of athletes out there who are responsible and do the right things, but nevertheless, they chose to play sports and be a student athlete. As cliché as it is, being a student comes before being an athlete. It is your obligation and responsibility to do well in the classroom if you want to compete. That free education, housing, food and clothes should be enough motivation to do that.