Athletic Scholarship Ban

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“Its time for our college athletes to be true students on campus, not athletes on athletic stipends with sports – not education – as their top priority and obligation” (Ralph Nader in League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011)
“By eliminating the athletic scholarship, … we could de-professionalize college athletes, reestablish athletic departments as part of the educational institution, and be able to use the term student-athlete without snickering.” (Ralph Nader in League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011)
Over the past years the usefulness of athletic scholarships, and its outcomes for both the schools and athletes has been contested. Opposing parties have debated whether or not banning them will solve the problems that lay within. I believe that athletic scholarships should be interdicted because they are no guarantee of education, good academic performance or a proper lifestyle for the athletes.
Thoughts of athletic scholarships started over 20 years ago while colleges were attempting to attribute it maintaining their athletes at an amateur status (Johnson & Acquaviva, n.d.). Ralph Nader, politician, author, lawyer, and consumer advocate, has recently drawn attention upon and ignited skepticism about its effectiveness, proposing the elimination of athletic scholarships in 2011 (League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011). After the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, Professional Basketball Championship, Nader summoned higher education schools to, as he said, “…take a bold step toward restoring academic integrity in intercollegiate sports…” (League of Fans Proposes Eliminating Athletic Scholarships to Help Restore Integrity on College Campuses, 2011).

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