Should Student Athletes Be Paid?

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Should it be mandatory for athletes to participate in physical education (phys-ed)? This topic is a huge debate, however I strongly believe that student-athletes should not have to take gym class. There are many reasons why they should not. To start off, athletes participating in gym class puts them at risk for obtaining an injury (Jarocha). This can result in injuries that are detrimental to an athlete’s season or possibly their career (“Sport”). It is very important to protect athletes from the scenarios that could put an end to their athletic pursuits. Secondly, athletes have a challenge when they are balancing their academic responsibilities with their athletic commitments (Murtagh). Decision making can be difficult when deciding on the …show more content…

This opportunity will give athletes advanced time to complete these tasks while in school. The extra study time will decrease the ineligibility and increase the student-athlete grades (McKouen). This is very important for both the school and the team, as school data given to the state would show higher grades for students and would prevent coaches from the worry of losing a player from their team. Although gym class is required to give the expected amount of physical activity, athletes go above these expectations with just their sporting events (“Health”). Running a mile or doing the fitness test can take energy away from an athlete who has an event after school. Sporting events usually take up to many hours a week (Alfveby). The forty minute gym class is not going to break or hurt the physical activity of an athlete, since “physical activity is any body movement that requires more energy than resting” (“Sports”). Therefore, athletes would achieve this requirement without phys-ed on their school schedule. Lastly, as there is a huge decline of high school athletes, giving the option of participating in a sport or gym class will influence students to participate in a sport …show more content…

From the data provided, athletes spend much of their time exercising outside of school. Whether it is weight lifting, practice, cardio, or a game, their time of activity will always exceed the activity provided through gym class. “High school athletes participating in varsity sports have much higher levels of physical activity and are four times more likely to do vigorous activity” (“Sports”). Athletes can be expected to do workouts and activities outside of school. “With the continuous workouts, games, and practices students need more time concluding the fact that student athletes should not have to take physical education” (Murtha). This statement is highly supported by others because of the data collected from the studies on athletes' physical activity at sports. In all, gym class should not be required for athletes due to the risk of injury, lack of academic study time, overworked exercise, and low athletic numbers. These risks can lead to ending seasons, ineligibility, stress, and canceled seasons. Student athletes should be looked out for by making physical education optional. The injuries reported continue to increase year on

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