After listening to the allegations that came out against THE Ohio State University, one must think that this is a laughable and head scratching matter … until they realize that it is entirely serious. Without going into the specific allegations at hands … the players received improper benefits and it is 100% terrible to think that any college football player who is a student first and an athlete second should accept anything above what they had agreed to. These players are representatives of the university, the fans, the alumni, and the entire community. How dare a single one of them go out and tarnish the name of everything that they represent by … pawning off some of their own stuff in order to pay for some tattoos?
If a player in the NFL can make a league minimum $300,000.00 (if not more depending on the year and their time playing in the league), why is it ok that players in the NCAA do not receive any sort of benefit? Why is it that they have the whistles blown on them every time that a stupid incident like this happens? Did it occur to anyone that these kids are just trying to live their lives and yet because they have a gift where they can play a game better than anyone else they are subjected to such scrutiny?
The reason I am upset is the system that the NCAA has set up. If a player is on scholarship, they aren’t allowed to have a job. That may be for a good reason, but the truth is none of these current players did anything to violate that rule, they aren’t even allowed to work because this is their job. If a player such as Sam Bradford can be getting ready to sign the richest rookie contract in NFL history this past spring, how is it that his value is suddenly increased by not only millions of dollars, but by any dollars. These players, such as the ones from Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and a few others, will play each and every Saturday in a stadium with OVER 110,000 people in the stands and countless others watching on TV. College football is a hundred million if not billion dollar machine which has effects on the economy, sells jerseys, pays millions in salaries, equipment, advertising rights in stadiums and on TV, etc. The revenue is everywhere. Yet these players don’t see a penny.
You could argue that the players are paid what their value is in a scholarship. Alright, do you really think that a player is only worth $30,000 a year in tuition? What if he is the Heisman trophy winner? What if he is the best player in the land and leads his school to a BCS bowl game that pays out millions of dollars JUST FOR GOING? That doesn’t even take into effect the fact that it technically costs the school as little as 20% of the actual sticker price on the scholarship to pay for a kid to go to school there (it costs nothing to add their paperwork to the pile and give them another seat in the classrooms, it only takes the spot of another student). In fact, some schools have raised their tuition just to help pay costs of scholarships.
The point is not that these boys were perfect (obviously). It isn’t even that they are entirely poor and have the world’s worst sob story. The point is that these kids have no way of making money, yet still want to sell their own hard earned stuff to try and pay for a tattoo or two. If a kid in the glee club or on the debate team wanted to sell their medals (if anyone actually wanted to buy them) they wouldn’t have a problem doing so. This isn’t about kids getting into trouble and breaking the law. This is another story about how the NCAA and the BCS want to capture each and every penny that they can without letting the “worker bees” who are the players, get to collect the fair share for their own services. To paraphrase Mike Gundy, “Who’s the kid here?” <a href="http://footballtailgate.weebly.com">Tell Us What You Think</a>
If a player in the NFL can make a league minimum $300,000.00 (if not more depending on the year and their time playing in the league), why is it ok that players in the NCAA do not receive any sort of benefit? Why is it that they have the whistles blown on them every time that a stupid incident like this happens? Did it occur to anyone that these kids are just trying to live their lives and yet because they have a gift where they can play a game better than anyone else they are subjected to such scrutiny?
The reason I am upset is the system that the NCAA has set up. If a player is on scholarship, they aren’t allowed to have a job. That may be for a good reason, but the truth is none of these current players did anything to violate that rule, they aren’t even allowed to work because this is their job. If a player such as Sam Bradford can be getting ready to sign the richest rookie contract in NFL history this past spring, how is it that his value is suddenly increased by not only millions of dollars, but by any dollars. These players, such as the ones from Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and a few others, will play each and every Saturday in a stadium with OVER 110,000 people in the stands and countless others watching on TV. College football is a hundred million if not billion dollar machine which has effects on the economy, sells jerseys, pays millions in salaries, equipment, advertising rights in stadiums and on TV, etc. The revenue is everywhere. Yet these players don’t see a penny.
You could argue that the players are paid what their value is in a scholarship. Alright, do you really think that a player is only worth $30,000 a year in tuition? What if he is the Heisman trophy winner? What if he is the best player in the land and leads his school to a BCS bowl game that pays out millions of dollars JUST FOR GOING? That doesn’t even take into effect the fact that it technically costs the school as little as 20% of the actual sticker price on the scholarship to pay for a kid to go to school there (it costs nothing to add their paperwork to the pile and give them another seat in the classrooms, it only takes the spot of another student). In fact, some schools have raised their tuition just to help pay costs of scholarships.
The point is not that these boys were perfect (obviously). It isn’t even that they are entirely poor and have the world’s worst sob story. The point is that these kids have no way of making money, yet still want to sell their own hard earned stuff to try and pay for a tattoo or two. If a kid in the glee club or on the debate team wanted to sell their medals (if anyone actually wanted to buy them) they wouldn’t have a problem doing so. This isn’t about kids getting into trouble and breaking the law. This is another story about how the NCAA and the BCS want to capture each and every penny that they can without letting the “worker bees” who are the players, get to collect the fair share for their own services. To paraphrase Mike Gundy, “Who’s the kid here?” <a href="http://footballtailgate.weebly.com">Tell Us What You Think</a>