Should Collegiate-Athletes be paid?
Rafi Barash
Hour 2 English
2/15/13
Should college athletes be allowed to accept salaries or financial gifts?
One of the most controversial topics in all of college sports is whether or not its athletes should get paid. As of now they are not paid, but many people are leaning towards paying them for supporting the college and putting their health at risk. These athletes should not recieve money, however, because they are too young to be paid the kind of money they would be paid, and injuries could complicated things very much. Many young college athletes don’t know how to deal with all of the sudden fame and money because they are too young. With being paid a factor in college sports, there would be many Lindsay Lohans and Britney Spears of college athletics. Just look at the statistics. 60% of all NBA players are broke within five years of retiring. This financial struggle doesn’t just reach the average players, but major stars like Allen Iverson, Shawn Kemp, and Scottie Pippen, just to name a few. An astounding 78% of professional football players go bankrupt within two years of retiring. Also, the quality the sport is played at may possibly diminish. It’s very likely that many players would underperform because they are under too much pressure. In the NBA, many players with a lot of hype entering the league such as the popularity Kwame Brown and Austin Rivers received underperform, largely because of the pressure they face, to the point where fans don’t even like them anymore and they lose respect. Just imagine how many college players would be vulnerable to this type of embarrassment if they were paid. Injuries are another major issue that could be problematic if college athletes were paid. When these paid players face nagging injuries, they may be in a rush to get back, play, and get paid, not waiting long enough to heal and possibly injuring themselves worse. Grant Hill is the perfect example of the worst case scenario that could happen when a
Hour 2 English
2/15/13
Should college athletes be allowed to accept salaries or financial gifts?
One of the most controversial topics in all of college sports is whether or not its athletes should get paid. As of now they are not paid, but many people are leaning towards paying them for supporting the college and putting their health at risk. These athletes should not recieve money, however, because they are too young to be paid the kind of money they would be paid, and injuries could complicated things very much. Many young college athletes don’t know how to deal with all of the sudden fame and money because they are too young. With being paid a factor in college sports, there would be many Lindsay Lohans and Britney Spears of college athletics. Just look at the statistics. 60% of all NBA players are broke within five years of retiring. This financial struggle doesn’t just reach the average players, but major stars like Allen Iverson, Shawn Kemp, and Scottie Pippen, just to name a few. An astounding 78% of professional football players go bankrupt within two years of retiring. Also, the quality the sport is played at may possibly diminish. It’s very likely that many players would underperform because they are under too much pressure. In the NBA, many players with a lot of hype entering the league such as the popularity Kwame Brown and Austin Rivers received underperform, largely because of the pressure they face, to the point where fans don’t even like them anymore and they lose respect. Just imagine how many college players would be vulnerable to this type of embarrassment if they were paid. Injuries are another major issue that could be problematic if college athletes were paid. When these paid players face nagging injuries, they may be in a rush to get back, play, and get paid, not waiting long enough to heal and possibly injuring themselves worse. Grant Hill is the perfect example of the worst case scenario that could happen when a