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 ...
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Rovell, D. (2013, December 11). Ncaa holds firm: No pay for play. Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/10119750/ncaa-president-mark-emmert-insists-pay-play-model-coming
Student-athlete benefits.(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-
center/student-athlete-benefits
The $6 billion heist: Robbing college athletes under the guise of amateurism. (2013, March 20).
Retrieved from http://www.ncpanow.org/news_articles?id=0050
Van Riper, T. (2013, September 06). Sorry Time Magazine: Colleges have no reason to pay
athletes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2013/09/06/sorry-time-magazine-colleges-have-no-reason-to-pay-athletes/
Wojciechowski, G. (2010, December 03). Cam Newton cleared to play. Retrieved from
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788
This is a big topic in the sports world. Players such as Reggie Bush and O.J Mayo have stripped their team of big achievements just because of one desicon. Some of the things that have been stripped are national championships, scholarships, wins, and not being able to play in the postseason next year. The player also may have some achievements taken away as well. Such as, player of the year award, or defensive player of the year. Most of the incidents happen when a player signs an agent and takes gifts such as money, houses, cars, food, and so on. Colleges should be punished because they are responsible for that player, colleges/coaching staff have a pretty good idea of the events that happen between players, and the athletes are representing the college.
Those who play popular and highly competitive college sports are treated unfairly. The colleges and universities with successful sports like football and basketball receive millions of dollars in television and ad space revenues, so do the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which is the governing body of big time college sports. Many coaches are also paid over $1 million per year. Meanwhile, the players that help the colleges receive these millions of dollars are forbidden to receive any gifts or money for their athletic achievements and performances. As a solution college athletes ...
College recruiting is something that was created for the good of college sports, but is often used for such unethical actions that will make anyone with a soul cringe. In 2004, University of Colorado’s athletic department used alcohol, drugs, and sex to lure recruits during official campus visits (Gerdy). These actions are immoral on a number of levels, and should not be tolerated. If this type of behavior continues to be seen in college sports, then serious changes need to be made. Illegal recruiting that takes place in NCAA athletics is unethical, gives colleges unfair advantages, and jeopardizes player’s eligibility.
Sack, Allen L. 1991. "The Underground Economy of College Football." Sociology Of Sport Journal 8, no. 1:
Woods, Al. “College Athletes Should Be Paid.” Sports and Athletes: An Anthology. Ed. Christine Watkins. Greenhaven Press, 2009. 87-94. Print.
Salvador, Damon. “Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid?” 20 April 2013.Web. 18 May 2014.
Mitchel, Horace and Marc Eldelman. Should College Student- Athletes be Paid? 6 January 2014. 6 April 2014 .
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
Paul Dietzel, former head coach of LSU, once said, “You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life.” Ever since the beginning, not only children but also college athletes have been playing sports for the love of the game and have used it as a way to grow character, teamwork, and leadership. Although when playing for a University an athletes job is to bring in profit for the school, this is not why these young men and women have continued with these sports they love. It is usually these students passion, a way for them to express themselves like others have art and music. The question has been up whether these college athletes should be paid for their loyalty and income for the University but by paying these students more than their given scholarship, it would defeat the purpose and environment of a college sport versus a professional sport, cause recruiting disputes, and affect the colleges benefits from these school athletics.
College sports has become like a job with players getting paid in scholarships, and the coach being the boss. The players must do what the coaches tell them to, and that is not always the best thing because coaches will do whatever it takes to win and earn money, even encouraging the use of drugs (Peck 36). Sometimes when coaches want players to come to their schools, they will give them preferential treatment and benefits while they participate in college sports regardless of NCAA rules (Saffici and Pellegrino 1 of 6). There is no doubt that college athletics are changing and becoming a big business, so the rules associated with how student-athletes are treated must change too (Saffici and Pellegrino 1 of 6).
In recent years the idea of student-athletes getting paid for playing in college has become more and more popular. There have been many instances where questions have been raised surrounding some of the finest athletes participating in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Some of the biggest names in athletics have been involved, including Cam Newton, Reggie Bush, Johnny Manziel, along with many more athletes who have been exposed by the media for supposedly accepting cash benefits while in college. Most recently Johnny Manziel has been brought up in an autograph scandal. Apparently he was paid ten-thousand dollars for more than over one thousand and one hundred autographs. Ultimately Manziel was only suspended one half of a full collegiate football game, but is it really fair that he was forced to sit a half of football game because he simply gave some people his John Hancock? Reggie Bush and Cam Newton have both been involved in scandals involving mone...
Logan, Bob. "Pay College Athletes? That's Something We Can't Afford." Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 4 Dec. 1999: 4. Questia School. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Zimbalist, Andrew S. Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism And Conflict In Big-Time College Sports. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
Larson, Erik.; Why colleges cost too much; Time, v149 (Mar. 17 '97), 1997, pp. 46-50
For decades there has been a debate on student athletes and their drive to succeed in the classroom. From the very beginning of organized college level athletics, the goal to want to succeed in athletics has forced students to put academics to the back burner. In spite of the goal to want to succeed over a hundred years of attempts to check limits of intercollegiate athletic programs on colleges' academic standards still seems to struggle to this day. This brings to surface one of the most asked questions in sports, “What effect does college sports have on academics and economics?” Herbert D. Simons, Derek Van Rheenen, and Martin V. Covington, authors of “Academic Motivation and the Student Athlete” researched the topic on whether athletics and academics benefit each other. Bryan Flynn, the author of “College Sports vs. Academics” poses the question “Should institutions of higher learning continue to involve themselves in athletic programs that often turn out to be virtual arms races for recruiting talented players who bring big money and prestige, but put academics to the back burner?” Although both authors agree that sports have an impact on an athlete’s academics, the focus of their argument differs.