Should College Athletes Get Paid?

College athletics is a billion dollar business which raises the question, why don’t they have to pay their employees? This NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) was formed to protect student-athletes, but today it seems like they are doing more harm than good. The multi-million dollar T.V. contracts, ticket and merchandise sales, and licensing fees all go straight into the bank accounts of the NCAA and the Universities. They have to pay the coaches and staff for the teams, but the athletes themselves do not get financially compensated. Athletes at these Universities receive athletic scholarships, but this does not account for general living expenses that most college students face during their time at school. This becomes a problem when the athlete cannot afford to live in the college town they represent. The NCAA has the ideal business model, a billion-dollar revenue generating business and they don’t have to pay the employees. This is a matter of ethical ideologies, and both sides’ needs to come to an agreement that fairly compensates the student-athletes.

Ethics can be defined as the moral principles that govern the actions of a group or individual. As related to business, such as the NCAA, ethics comes into play when trying to decide if a certain practice will infringe on the rights of others. For example, insider trading is illegal in the United States but not in New Zealand (Gini,53). This means that an action is illegal in one country, but only morally wrong in another. Just because the legal system defines a term one way in a country and another way in a different country, does this action not harm or infringe on the rights of others? In this country, laws are in place to ensure that businesses pay their employees money for the time they have worked. Is what the big-business of the NCAA doing illegal by not paying their employees, or are the just not fulfilling their moral obligations to the students? It all comes down to how you define the student-athlete; are they students, or are they employees?

Argument 1: The NCAA has been unethical in their treatment of “student-athletes,” and they (student-athletes) should be compensated.

In 2010 the SEC, (South Eastern Conference) a football powerhouse conference, became the first NCAA conference to break one billion dollars generated in one season by athletic sales (Branch,2). Yes, a billion dollars, and that is just one conference. The B1G TEN came in at a close second with 905 million dollars generated. Where does this money go? Obviously the athletes and student body get most of the money back right? Wrong! All of this money goes to the NCAA or Universities to use for advertising, generating collegiate apparel, or salaries of those who govern and run college sports in our country (Brill,1). This dates back to the 40’s, where athletes weren’t allowed to receive any sort of benefits. This includes scholarships, room-and-board, meal plans, and travel expenses collegiate athletes take for granted today. They got paid in cash back then. After a group of underclassman complained about being paid less to play then the upperclassmen on their team, the NCAA enacted the Sanctity Act, which took away the possibility of receiving any kind of payment or benefits other than an athletic scholarship that was based on financial need (Branch,5). Today much of the power the NCAA has over the colleges comes from the term “student-athlete.” It was a term actually made up by the NCAA to protect players. It is now used because, according to the NCAA, they always have to act to protect the “student-athlete.” This example from the article by Branch tells of how the NCAA used the term student-athlete to get out of paying for a life changing injury sustained on the college football field.

“Through the 1990s, from his wheelchair, Waldrep pressed a lawsuit for workers’ compensation. (He also, through heroic rehabilitation efforts, recovered feeling in his arms, and eventually learned to drive a specially rigged van. “I can brush my teeth,” he told me last year, “but I still need help to bathe and dress.”) His attorneys haggled with TCU and the state worker-compensation fund over what constituted employment. Clearly, TCU had provided football players with equipment for the job, as a typical employer would—but did the university pay wages, withhold income taxes on his financial aid, or control work conditions and performance? The appeals court finally rejected Waldrep’s claim in June of 2000, ruling that he was not an employee because he had not paid taxes on financial aid that he could have kept even if he quit football. (Waldrep told me school officials “said they recruited me as a student, not an athlete,” which he says was absurd.)”

Unfortunately this kind of “lawyering” happens all the time because of the loose meaning of the word student athlete. If the NCAA really claims that every action is to protect the student-athlete, why do they keep hurting them to save money? It comes down to matters of non-ethical behaviors by the NCAA. Since its formation, there are too many examples where the NCAA doesn’t take the best interest of the student-athlete in mind. Instead they are focused on monetary gain. Promises are a key into defining the ethics of a certain situation. What did the NCAA promise the students? To always have the athletes’ best interest in mind. Did they keep this promise? No, the NCAA is a money making business. I don’t see how someone or some organization can be a governing figure when all they truly care about is generating revenue. It is because, ethically, it can’t be done.

Argument 2: The “student-athlete” is an employee of the University and the NCAA, and should be paid for participating in sports.

Plato states that “the purpose of athletic competition is to teach completion, coordination, and cooperation” (Gini,86). He means that by playing sports you will learn other things about life other than becoming physically fit. There are many benefits of playing sports other than the obvious, like getting in better shape or feeling good after a big win. Some aren’t gifted enough to compete at the collegiate level, but there are also some who have the talent and cannot afford to take the financial risk at making it to the professional level. America is supposed to be a place of equal opportunity where everyone has the chance at becoming everything they can be. I would argue that today this stands true if you have money. Many kids are scouted out of high school that have next to nothing when they are asked to leave their families to chase the dream of going pro. The coaches just want to win so they get paid and keep their jobs. The schools just want to win so they make even more money off of National Championship memorabilia. The NCAA wants even better, faster, and stronger teams so the games will be even more entertaining and they can sell more tickets or more people will watch on T.V. After all this, what does the athlete themselves want? He wants to get a degree or get into the professional draft as soon as possible. I agree that college is just a stepping stone to the professional level for any profession, but how do these young athletes cope with living on their own with next to nothing? They have all this talent and all these people know their name, but they can’t do anything in fear of losing it all. This happened in 2010, to the now professional running back Reggie Bush. He won a national title and Heisman trophy with the University of Southern California Trojans back in 2004-05. Five years later the school had to forfeit the national title and Bush had to give back the Heisman trophy. That game was named one of the top three championships of all time, but it was now tainted by the scandal. Bush’s family was alleged to have taken airfare, a limousine ride, and a rent-free house from an agent who wanted Bush as a client for the major leagues. Fortunately enough for him, he was already getting paid, but no money can buy back his hard earned Heisman trophy. He was still the best player in the country for that year, but according to the NCAA he was not. Things like this seem to resurface every year in hope that the NCAA will scare off anyone else thinking of taking benefits before their professional debut. Reggie Bush wanted a taste of the “big leagues,” but what about those who get majorly hurt before they even get a chance? Sure, everyone who has played sports knows the risk of getting hurt is there at every snap, pitch, or tip-off, but nobody ever thinks they will be the one getting carted off the field. When these athletes get hurt and they cannot play anymore they just get forgotten about by their schools who they gave their bodies for. A thank-you is just not enough in the world today. Someone just lost the chance to be a millionaire and now they are out on their own, disabled, and without income. If the schools are in it to make money, that makes then a business. That means they should have the same rules as a business. This includes a salary for its employees and a workers compensation program for those who were hurt on the field. Nobody comes to the games to watch the coaches’ right? If the coach gets hurt, everything is taken care of by either the school or the NCAA, and most of these guys have multi-year multi-million dollar contracts. During the annual March Madness basketball tournament, the NCAA makes well over one billion dollars, mostly in T.V. contracts which bring in 770 million (Brill,1). Where is the risk involved here? There isn’t any, and I am also sure that whoever makes these deals with the T.V. companies gets fairly compensated for his role in making billions of dollars for his company. Why don’t the most notable and obvious performing employees have to be paid? The NCAA and the Universities have gotten away with the perfect business plan for years and there has to be something to stop the unethical practices.

Counterargument 1: Scholarships are given as fair compensation to the student-athletes as an opportunity at an education.

The fact that sports can give something more than money could buy is probably the greatest facet of the collegiate sports system. Colleges can take a kid with nothing monetary and a hard work ethic, and give him an education and the chance to be a millionaire. Most Americans dream of overnight wealth but never want to put the work in. Today’s student athletes are given over 100,000 dollars in educational scholarships which give them endless possibilities outside of sports. Most everyone has seen “The Blind Side,” or heard of the “rags-to-riches” story of Michael Oher. Oher is an African American who now plays in the NFL, but how he got there is unlike most other professional athletes. He was a homeless teen who never played football before he was given a chance. He was taken in by a wealthy white family who gave him the guidance and opportunity to go to high school. His natural given size made him a prime candidate to play offensive line which opened up a whole new set of options for a successful future. He stood out in high school which granted him a full-ride to Ole’ Miss where he received an education. No matter what happened next, the education and degree can never be taken away. He earned much more when he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens where he would start his rookie year. In conclusion, the Universities give out much more than scholarships and money. They give the individual a place to belong to as well as receive their education and open up doors like nothing else can.

Rebuttal to Counterargument: Getting through college has unforeseen obstacles.

It is fair to say that Universities and the NCAA give opportunities that would otherwise no be there if they weren’t athletically gifted. The scholarships barely cover cost of living expenses like rent or food. Once they are at the school how can they afford to stay, and what happens when that athleticism is no longer there? Every athlete that has ever stepped onto the field knows that their career could be over in just one play. Few people know this as well as Eric LeGrand. LeGrand was a defensive tackle for the for the Rutgers football team when he was paralyzed from a spinal cord injury sustained on the field. He wasn’t a first round pick with million dollar potential, but he worked hard and had a possibility of a career in sports. Luckily he retained his scholarship, but his life would never be the same. The most disturbing thing that happens to the student-athletes is when the school gives the athletes special treatment towards school. The universities main objective should be to educate not to cheat them of their education. In 1989, Dexter Manley, a famous Washington Redskins safety, admitted during a senate hearing that he was illiterate through college (Branch, 14). No teachers taught him how to read or write, but because of his athletic abilities the professors allowed him to pass. Professors have also been fired because they refuse to change the grades of student-athletes. Jan Kemp was a professor at the University of Georgia who taught remedial English. Sadly she saw a lot of athletes in her remedial classroom but refused to change grades or give preferential treatment to athletes. Some of her student athletes were about to lose eligibility before a big football Bowl Game. Faculty changed her grades to higher ones, and she was even asked if she thought she was more important to the University than one of the star basketball players. This implied she was expendable and if she didn’t comply she would be fired (Branch, 14). She also won her court case which helped change university policy towards the equal treatment of students.

Others like Joseph Agnew were not injured, but lost their chance because of a coaching change. Before his case, the NCAA wouldn’t allow colleges to give athletes multi-year scholarships. In 2009, the Rice University basketball team had a coaching change. When the new coach came into the program, he did not renew Agnew’s scholarship which gave him the option to lose out on three years of college, or be 35,000 dollars in debt to finish his degree. If given the option, he could have bargained with other schools to see who could promise him a degree which allowed him to finish his education regardless of his athletic status (Branch,13). He won his case in court which gave athletes everywhere a true opportunity at a bright future. These Universities were not only cheating against other school, they were cheating the students at an education. Winning games should not be the priority of these schools. Educating their students and making them successful “outside the lines” is what they should take most pride in.

These two examples show that the NCAA doesn’t really focus on the wellbeing of all their athletes. The NCAA tries to fight everything that gives more benefits or power to the student athletes. They could have made ethically sound rules and guidelines that give an injured player a chance to finish out his degree, regardless of his athletic status. The bottom line is that unexpected things happen in life, and these young kids don’t have much to fall back on. If their athletic future is gone, they should still be given a chance at an academic future. Money shouldn’t be the deciding factor in the future of a student-athlete.

Conclusion

The evidence against the Universities and the NCAA shows that they do not compensate their student-athletes fairly. The term student-athlete was actually made up by the NCAA as a way to separate them from the rest of the student body. It seems to be their way of saying “employee,” because that is what they really are for these colleges. They help generate billions of dollars annually for the NCAA and their own Universities, but they don’t see any of that money. The scholarships help open doors but those doors are often slammed shut because of the lack of money, injuries, or other unforeseen events that weren’t a problem when choosing schools. There is often a system in the workplace that handles these issues when they arise, but not for college athletes. Most are left with few options if they can no longer play in sports. It just using these people for free labor and they are given few options to stand up and voice how they feel. That is what a group of football players from Northwestern University did recently. This is the first case that has recognized these athletes as a workers union and won. The courts granted them the right to form a union and not have their educational or athletic opportunities taken away. This is a very promising step towards giving these athletes what they deserve in forms of compensation and restitution during their tenure at college and after they no longer participate in athletics. Giving these athletes all the resources they need to be successful on and off the field needs to be the main focus of the NCAA and Universities across the nation. If not they are just taking more than their fair share of the money earned by these student-athletes, because without them, the NCAA would not generate anything. A more ethical treatment towards college athletes needs to be displayed by the governing bodies or the masses will see that they are only in it for money and not the athletes. College sports will change in the next few years, and if it doesn’t, it will phase out, because today everyone is in it to make money.

Works Cited

Branch, Taylor. "The shame of college sports." The Atlantic. : 1-22. http://www.workplacebullying.org/multi/pdf/branch.pdf (accessed March 15, 2014).

Gini, Al, and alexei Marcoux. The ethics of business: a concise introduction. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2012.

Svare, Bruce B. "The ‘Big Lie’ and intercollegiate sports in america: time to tame the monster that is enabled by academic corruption." : 1-7. http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/bbsvare_dpaper.pdf (accessed March 15, 2014).