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The Double Standard for The College Athlete
In today’s college atmosphere equality is stressed but is there a double standard for the college student/athlete. In the paper I will briefly outline the various ways college athletes are among the chosen ones in the college realm.
The differences are apparent from the beginning. Basically the college athlete is given an open door. When a regular student chooses a college he will apply, pay the app. Fee, and then hope his credentials are good enough. From the athlete’s perspective it is very different they earn their entrance with athletic skill. Athletes are selected they do not hunt for a school. All fees are usually waived and then they are buttered up so they will except the institutions offer. This is just the beginning.
Priority! All student athletes receive priority over the general students. When it comes to housing Athletes are put together and given the newest, sometimes even special separated housing. Then the common student is left to fend for his or her self. The class selection is also given priority. Athletes will be given first pick for the best, easiest, and most sought after classes. The general enrollee will stand in line and fend for themselves were the Athlete just signs and says ok. But in the class is were the fun begins.
Almost all colleges have friendly classes or teachers that understand the stresses of the student athlete that has to practice and study. But they do not understand the young man or woman who works full time and is trying to make a better life for themselves. These teachers are selected by the coaches and ADs as the teaches to have. These friends of the program will make sure that a student is eligible to play. These teachers will also sometimes waive assignments and even allow slacked attendance. Were as when the average Joe misses he will loose credit and not be allowed to make up missed work.
These few examples of favoritism are enough to show that this inconsistent treatment is wrong. According to any College or University this does not happen but just look at any athletic program and talk to the athletes.
The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel, began the 2013 season sitting on the sidelines. Due to a half game suspension handed down by Texas A&M University, Manziel was only allowed to watch as A&M took the field versus the visiting Rice Owls. To “Aggies” fans, this half game suspension came as a huge relief. It had been feared that Manziel may receive a multiple game or year-long ban from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for violating NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1. The bylaw prohibits athletes from allowing their name or picture to be used in a commercial matter (Berkes, 2013). Luckily for him, a half-game suspension would be his only punishment. Manziel was put into this predicament after reports surfaced that he had accepted money in return for autographs. No proof of this was ever found, but it was proved that someone, probably a memorabilia collector, profited from his signature (Berkes, 2013). So wait, a man can’t receive money for signing his own autograph? The answer is “no”, if he is a student athlete following the strict rules of the NCAA. The only benefits he can accept are those included in a lucrative scholarship given by universities. As more incidents like Johnny Manziel’s have occurred, it has been debated by sports analysts and the news media whether or not these scholarships are a fair payment. Another Heisman Trophy winner, Cam Newton, was accused of trying to sell his services to Mississippi State University after his decision to transfer from a community college following his junior year. While an NCAA investigation would find that his father had indeed tried to shop Cam to prospective schools, Newton was cleared to play (Wojciechowski, 2010). The 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, was ...
Most student-athletes grow up as very innocent lads bedecked with tremendous talents and become very promising in sports. Thus, they become rays of hope for their families, neighborhoods, and schools yet to be determined. Like the lamb in William Blake’s poem The Lamb, they are fed “by the stream & o’er the mead; gave…clothing of delight, softest clothing, wooly, bright…making all the vales rejoice.” (Smith 24) Then they are exposed to the life of hard work in which only the fittest survives. This makes them ready for the different challenges in the sports scene.
Van Rheenen, Derek. "Exploitation in College Sports: Race, Revenue, and Educational Reward." International Review for the Sociology of Sport 48.5 (2013): 550-71. Print.
Robinson, J., Peg Bradley-Doppes, Charles M. Neinas, John R. Thelin, Christine A. Plonsky, and Michael Messner. “Gender Equity in College Sports: 6 Views.” Chronicle of Higher Education 6 Dec 2002: B7+.
Throughout the country young men and women are losing their priority for an education. To attend a university should be a highly cherished privilege, and it should be an even greater honor to play athletics for the university. Therefore, the writer supports the decision that the “student” comes before “athlete” in student-athlete. Playing for pay should be considered a job for “professionals”. In the rulebook, the NCAA views college athletes as armatures. This statement sums it up best. When athletes go to college, not all of them go in with the mindset that athletics is going to be their future job....
Friday, William C. "Athletics vs. academics. (both sides)." Matrix: The Magazine for Leaders in Higher Education 2.6 (2001): 30+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 27 July 2011.
It is often forgotten that these members are students first and athletes second. Delving deeper into this very controversial matter are the race and gender issues that come into play. The most affected minority group affected by these stipulations is the African American. While struggling through the ongoing prejudice and discrimination that still exists today, African American athletes are still expected to follow the same guidelines as every other student that participates in college athletics. By investigating the trends from the past years of African American athletes beginning with their entrance into college throughout their athletic and academic careers and then afterward, you can see that although great leaps have taken place for this minority, it is still difficult for them to measure up for many reasons....
Potuto, Josephine (Jo) R., and James O'Hanlon. "National Study Of Student-Athletes Regarding Their Experiences As College Students." College Student Journal 41.4 (2007): 947-966. Humanities International Complete. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.
College athletes are manipulated every day. Student athletes are working day in and day out to meet academic standards and to keep their level of play competitive. These athletes need to be rewarded and credited for their achievements. Not only are these athletes not being rewarded but they are also living with no money. Because the athletes are living off of no money they are very vulnerable to taking money from boosters and others that are willing to help them out. The problem with this is that the athletes are not only getting themselves in trouble but their athletic departments as well.
The enactment of this Title has significantly changed the playing field for athletic departments through out the nation by altering their funding systems to comply with its rules. As a result, women have benefited greatly. There have been additions of female sports as well as an increase of the number of scholarships awarded to female athletes, and also a lot more funding to provide more “equitable” facilities for them. According to the NCAA Gender Equity Studies , “from 1992 to 1997 NCAA institutions have increased the number of female athletes by 5,800. But tragically during that time these colleges also eliminated 20,900 male athletes.” (Kocher p.1) This dramatic landslide has occurred because athletic departments are under pressure to rapidly increase the proportion of female athletes by whatever means necessary. As the path toward complete “equality” gradually brightens for women in college athletics, a dark path is now becoming evident. Male athletes, in a sense, are now being discriminated against because of Title IX.
Playing a sport in college is equivalent to working a full-time job (Thomas). There are rules that allow major-college football coaches to only demand twenty hours of the players time each week (Wieberg). However, studies show that those athletes are doubling those hours per week during the season (Wieberg). Other sports are putting in the equivalent of a full time work week (Wieberg). Some NCAA officials are concerned with the amount of time spent stating that beyond forty hours is inhumane (Wieberg). Most of the athletes compete and do whatever it takes to succeed, so they enjoy spending countless hours on sports (Wieberg). Many athletes even have struggles in the classroom because they do not have enough time to study. Student-athletes at top Division I schools think of themselves as athletes more than students (Wieberg). Less than one percent of college athletes actually make it professionally (Wieberg). That means these kids should focus more on their education than on athletics. In reality, these official...
Student athletes should not be paid more than any other student at State University, because it implies that the focus of this university is that an extracurricular activity as a means of profit. Intercollegiate athletics is becoming the central focus of colleges and universities, the strife and the substantial sum of money are the most important factors of most university administration’s interest. Student athletes should be just as their title states, students. The normal college student is struggling to make ends meet just for attending college, so why should student athletes be exempt from that? College athletes should indeed have their scholarships cover what their talents not only athletically but also academically depict. Unfortunately, the disapproval resides when students who are making leaps academically are not being offered monetary congratulations in comparison to student athletes. If the hefty amount of revenue that colleges as a conglomerate are making is the main argument for why athletes should be paid, then what is to stop the National Clearinghouse from devising unjust standards? Eventually if these payments are to continue, coaches, organizations, and the NCAA Clearinghouse will begin to feel that “c...
College athletes receive scholarships based on the fact that they can play. What happens when they get injured and they are ultimately dropped from the team? They are left unable to pay for college, with hospital bills and the dream of becoming a professional athlete is flushed down the drain. Some might argue that they can get an academic scholarship, after all school should have been their priority. That sounds great, but in actuality a lot of them have been pushed through school and will not qualify. They spend so much time practicing that they do not have much time or energy to put into schoolwork. Then there are the off campus/out-of-state games that they attend. Those do not just take place on the weekends; they are during classes too, and they will almost always be considered an official excused absence. These coaches and other people in charge of athletes do not have the student’s best interest at heart. All they care about is that they can get out there and win. In my first year of college, I found out that a couple...
Many people believe that College athletes have it easy, and who wouldn’t think that? A free education, free living; getting to travel and play the sport that many people would love to still be able to. Student athletes also get to pick classes earlier than a regular student and have the ability to be excused from classes to go to games and special events. The life of a student athlete sounds like an enticing thing for many people; especially those who are not student athletes on scholarships or walk-ons to a college team. The rising cost of attending college has made the younger athletic population work just as hard to receive a scholarship to play a sport, because they may come from poverty where they can’t otherwise afford to attend school, which is beneficial to them. Understand, that college is a place where academics comes first, and everything else is second; this includes athletics. But are these athletes treated fairly and given all the right things they need to succeed in life, let alone college?
If someone plays a college sport he or she is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Meaning that athlete is a student-athlete and an amateur competitor. To remain eligible to compete, all athletes in the NCAA are not allowed to tryout, practice, or compete with a professional team or any professional players. Also cannot have a contract with a professional team. In addition, cannot receive any benefits from an agent or a potential agent. This means no contact with a sports agent. The most important rule that has to be followed, and the one that is under the most scrutiny is a student athlete cannot receive a salary for participating in athletics. (“Amateurism”, 2013)