Paying Student Athletes

Posted: December 10th, 2013

College Athletes Salaries

Essay 2

Jarrid Freeman

Baker College

College Athletes Salaries

            The author of the article, NCAA Football Analysis: Why College Athletes Should be Paid to Play Burgett, Joe has taken a position to support the fact that college players should be paid. In this article, Burgett claims that schools like Southern Methodist University (SMU) have violated the laws that have been set by NCAA and such cases have been ignored or gone unpunished. Students like Jim Tressel, Cam Newton among others have violated NCAA laws because they have been unpaid by their respective colleges. Other universities are using money in recruiting athletes while others are using funds to entice students to play harder and they label it as “great coaching.” The dealings of those colleges are known, but ignored by NCAA.

Students have families and it is the dream of every parent to see that his or her child is paid for participating in sports. Everything rotates around money and college athletes should not be seen as being unfair when they ask for their dues after playing in a certain sport. Although college athletes are offered scholarships, the money for food and boarding is not enough. They need to be offered much more than what the scholarships are offering. A good education is what inspires students to go to college, but a better life is all that everyone needs and money serves this purpose.

College athletes should be paid because universities are making millions of dollars out of their sport activities. It is only logical that they should be paid. Universities and colleges with the best athletes sell university paintings, photographs of athletes, jerseys with their numbers and make video games of the athletes. These activities earn the universities a lot of money and it is fair to pay college athletes. The universities need to offer the college athletes lessons on spending their salaries.

Burgett further outlines ways that the universities should embrace to allow students to make an extra dollar. He says that an athlete who participates in a sporting event outside the university should be allowed  to remain a student athlete. They should not be sanctioned by the university as stated by the NCAA laws. Their respective colleges should not use college athletes’ jersey numbers, paintings without their consent. The amount of money offered for food and boarding should be more than 3,000 dollars for every month. The players should also be allowed to keep money made from signings. Finally, only coaches should be allowed to recruit student athletes and the boosters and alumni should be blocked from participating in this program. NCAA should set high fines for those who violate these rules. In case a student athlete fails a drug test, the scholarship should be retracted.

Burgett’s target audience is the NCAA committee members, college athletes, sport clubs, and university and college authorities, their alumni, and college athletes and their respective families. The purpose of the article is to educate or inform the target audience of the downside of the NCAA laws. This article also shows how the NCAA laws are being violated by universities and colleges as the NCAA officials ignore. Another factor that has been highlighted in the article is the little money allocated to the student athletes who are on scholarships. The money for boarding and food is very little in comparison to the amount of money that the college athletes earn for their respective universities. This article also gives recommendations on what should be done in case a student violates the laws, for instance, being involved in drug abuse activities.    Burgett has also pointed out on the measures that can be adopted so that the student athletes earn their fair share of money. This includes direct earning from signings. Burgett also recommends that the colleges and universities should not terminate students who play for other clubs other than the university. The article also suggests that the NCAA constitution should be changed to allow student athletes to be paid. The laws should be reformed to state that if alumni and boosters of a university are involved in the recruiting of a student athlete, they should be prosecuted, fined, or even imprisoned. Universities should be disallowed from using the names of athletes, their appearances in movies and selling their jersey numbers and photographs. If they have to do this, the college athletes have to be involved. The amount allocated to the food, boarding rations should be increased, and college athletes should be given financial classes to help them in managing the funds.

Burgett has used various types of evidence. The first one is statistical evidence, which includes figures like food and boarding rations should be increased to $2000-$3000 for every month. He has also stated that colleges are reaping fine profits of about $100,000 for every game. He has also used testimonial evidence when he gives examples of colleges and universities that have violated the NCAA laws. Universities like Auburn, South Methodist University among others. College athletes who have violated the laws like Jim Tressel, and Cam Newton. In his recommendations, he uses anecdotal evidence. He writes on what should be done to salvage the situation and this is out of his observations.

Figurative language used includes phrases like “bidding war,” “money is what comes about,” “schools went about,” “university had no knowledge,” and “NCAA has a ton to think about.” Imagery has been used in phrases like “NCAA has a ton to think about.” This phrase has been used to conclude the story meaning that NCAA has a lot to think about and this matter is not that easy. Another imagery term is “a ton of profit for universities.” This image shows that the universities are making millions while they starve the persons that earn this money. This image highlights the unfairness exercised when college athletes are denied salaries. Burgett refers to the universities that carry out these unfair dealings with the help of NCAA. He points out at the universities, for instance, Auburn and South Methodist University.

Burgett utilizes all the elements of speech. His writing is written in simple language. He uses humor and changes his words to avoid sameness in expression. Additionally, he uses relevant examples and statistics to express the facts. The speech is organized in a good manner. It has a flow from the introduction, body right to the recommendations and conclusions. His opening is satirical and energizing at the same time it gets the attention of any reader.

The use of figurative language, anecdotal and statistical evidence is to make the speech interesting at the same time offer tangible facts that the reader can see. Burgett organizes his work and adheres to all the elements of the speech to keep the reader reading. Images like “a ton of profit for universities,” and “NCAA has a ton to think about,” have been used to illustrate the seriousness of the matter.

Reference

Burgett, Joe. (2012). NCAA Football Analysis: Why College Athletes Should be Paid to Play.     Bleacher Report. Retrieved from            NCAA_Football_Analysis_Why_College_Athletes_Should_Be_Paid_to_Play__Bleacher            _Report_1.htm