NCAA Athletes Are Overpaid

Summary

This documentary examines how building off unpaid athletes has helped college sports in America become a billion dollar business. Life as an NCAA athlete is not as luxurious as media coverage portrays it. While we are exposed to their successes and failures on the field what we are not always shown is their struggles off the field. With busy schedules, the balance of classes, tutoring, meetings, workouts and practices makes spare time almost non-existent. Having no time for anything other than these vigorous activities, college athletes have a difficult time trying to find employment. Many of these athletes struggle financially and rely heavily on athletic scholarships. Take Johnathan Franklin, former running back from UCLA as a primary

example. Growing up, he was not considering a college degree because his only ambition was making money and taking care of his mother. As stated by Franklin in the documentary, “I cried when they told me I had received a scholarship because I knew my mom couldn’t pay for college…”.

With athletes depending on scholarship money as a source of income, this leaves close to no money for their physiological needs. Former university of Tennessee running back, Arian Foster, reminisces on a night after a big win when he realized he had nothing to show for his hard work on the field. Once he arrived back at his dorm and realized his fridge was empty he called his coach pleading, “… I have no food, no money and if I don’t get food I may do something stupid”. As a result of this, many players begin challenging their moral values resulting in cognitive dissonance which leads to them selling drugs and/or their championship rings in order to create a source of income for themselves. Feelings of extreme frustration toward the NCAA are obvious throughout the league, but they are never spoken about. This is because the NCAA’s rules and regulations are so manipulative that athletes know if they speak publicly about their issues, it will have a significant effect on their draft stock. However, in spite the fact of this, it is hard to ignore how the NCAA athletics capture the nation's spotlight every year, generating millions of dollars while the athletes are left struggling to live and afford basic life

necessities.
The Constitution of the Amateur Athlete Union of the United States (1902), states that, “an amateur sportsman is one that engages in sport solely for the pleasure and physical, mental and social benefits he derives…” (p.

59). Primitively, scholarships were unheard of and universities were bribing athletes in order to convince them to attend their institution. After the media became aware that college sports were getting involved with fraud and gambling the proposition of offering athletes a free education (i.e. scholarships) was believed to help eliminate this dilemma. The principle of Universalization demonstrates an understanding of how equal respect is due, unless an ethical reason exists for not doing so. This is being violated by the NCAA because a student body president can receive five thousand dollars for his contribution to the institution, but a student-athlete can receive zero for their contribution athletically. NCAA critic, Taylor Branch publicly spoke in 2011 about student-athletes and equal rights by explaining, “[The real scandal in sports] is not that students are getting illegally paid or recruited, it’s that two of the noble principles on which the NCAA justifies its existence ‘amateurism’ and the ‘student-athlete’ are hoaxes…so they can exploit the skills and fame of young athletes…” The phrase “student-athlete” can be defined as a participant in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which (s)he is enrolled. Under

these circumstances, student-athletes must balance being enrolled as a full-time student and a full-time athlete. Walter Byers created this term in order to eliminate athletes trying to claim workers compensation after a possible career ending injury. This was put to the test when Kent Waldrep from TCU sustained a career ending and life altering injury the would leave him paralyzed for the rest of his life. Ultimately, this would show the nation how there was no security in their education because a scholarship can be revoked at anytime for any reasons. As a result of Waldrep’s injury he would have his scholarship stripped and receive no compensation because the university used Byers term, claiming that Waldrep came to receive an education before performing on the field. The NCAA would claim that the form of payment athletes were receiving was a free degree. However, many universities would enroll their athletes in easier classes (known as “paper classes”) to ensure they would have high GPA’s and be allowed to compete. In addition, teaching assistants and profs would give these student-athletes an easier time, even though if found guilty, they could be punished by the NCAA and athletes could lose their scholarships. With only 5% of college athletes reaching the next level, accomplishing a degree while representing their institution is crucial in order to better support themselves in the future. In conclusion, the NCAA is taking advantage of their student athletes by violating the means ends principle and treating them as a means to an end in order to produce a multimillion dollar industry.