Playing College Sports Is Not A Job

College sports will probably always have issues and controversies that pose a threat or problem. Getting to play sports for a college is a privilege. There remains to be attention focused around college athletes being paid and given lavish gifts as a incentive to play basketball or football at a particular college. This is wrong by all means. Despite whether or not a student-athlete is still receiving a good education it’s unfair to everyone else. Other students and athletes don’t receive any preferential treatment for going to college. Participating in such an extracurricular activity is not a job, but a form of recreation linked to personal enjoyment. Sure there is a main goal to achieve by playing during a season, although this doesn’t qualify anyone to get compensated for trying to help a team win a championship.
Until an athlete reaches the professional ranks there should be no question about getting “paid under the table” so to speak. Trying to bribe a talented young football player just out of high school with a convertible, SUV, or whatever to come sign on with a prestigious school is immoral and indecent. Besides giving such incentives will usually lead to more problems. That athlete will either wreck the car, get caught inside with illegal drugs in the back seat then be arrested, or sell the car for their own personal gain. Coaches, scouts, or college big wigs that promise these outrageous gifts are idiots. What do they think that no one will ever find out about these private, illegal activities? News leaks out sooner or later. There is not enough money to go around to keep everyone’s mouth shut. It’s quite stupid to risk a job you enjoy just for a possible chance at having a winning season. There are no guarantees in sports. The outcome of success is measured by how well a team plays, not based on the performance of one player.
When we people ever learn that money is not the answer to everything? Coaching, motivating, inspiring, mentoring, and constructive criticism for improvement is what leads to winning. Using cheat tactics that are corrupt and unethical never reaps awards in the long run. I think when a team gets so desperate to win that they will sink to such a low, undermined level it’s time to quit playing altogether. If a team stinks so bad for years and years through good moral coaching and contrived routine that they never have a winning season a college shouldn’t even a have a team. This, however is highly unlikely because whether or not a team has depth and is loaded with talent they still can find a way to win. The movie Hoosiers is a classic example here. The new Indiana coach didn’t have much to work with at the small high school, but through relentless coaching and team unity the underdog team was transformed into a contender.
The glamour and salaries of professional sports is too enticing for young college athletes. This is the main reason why they choose to forego their remaining years in college and go straight into the professional leagues. The thought of making millions of dollars rather than finishing school to receive a degree seems more important to them at the time being. It’s difficult to turn down such a exciting, lucrative opportunity. This balance of what’s the right thing to do would be eliminated if professional leagues refused to allow college athletes that have not graduated to enter the drafts. The restriction is far from ever being imposed, but it would give young standout players time to get their college education and mature. These players are blessed with great talents and gifts, there is no denying that, though professional sports is a business which takes time to learn. The whole expansion of team revenue, promotions, sponsors, team/player merchandise, and product endorsements is a lot to think about and consider. For the most part, they all affect the players’ salaries. Then agents come into the picture. Having the right representation to negotiate is an important part of a player’s career too.
The whole issue of paying college athletes boils down really to ethics and good principles. The way others profit such as television networks as well as sponsors from big sports events have some people feeling like the athletes deserve a cut of the money. Companies do make money from these games, but it’s a way for most of them to advertise and do promotions. They are not doing anything illegal by doing so, it’s to reach a larger target audience through television. There always will be some controversy over why or why not college athletes should get compensated. There has to be a fine line drawn though, between actual jobs and recreational activities committed to by choice. Universities and colleges can’t force students to participate in sports programs if they don’t want to so getting an education should be utmost important rather than money or gifts. If student-athletes work hard in and outside of the classroom they will be satisfied later on with a rewarding career and good salary.