Recently, the California state legislature proposed a bill that would allow college athletes to get salaries. Supporters of the bill argue the NCAA exploits student athletes, making loads of money off them while they do not see a cent in return. Detractors contend that if the bill passes, student athletes will essentially become professionals going to the highest bidder.
There is no question student athletes playing major sports are exploited. Schools make millions off them. They also have as much practice as they have class-time, and are prohibited from getting jobs. Student athletes can play sports on the side, but only if it helps the university they attend. Colorado receiver Jeremy Bloom was forced to give up his Olympic skiing career due to NCAA restrictions, but when Ricky Williams was running for the University of Texas he had his tuition paid by the minor league baseball team he was playing for; Texas did not give him a scholarship.
However, athletes in minor programs are treated differently. These student athletes play for the love of their sport. They practice as much as athletes in major sports and are subject to the same restrictions. But in conversations about paying college athletes, they are never mentioned.
This is the same double standard that applies to virtually all of college athletics. It is the double standard that allows Colorado State to make millions off star senior quarterback Bradlee van Pelt and then become furious when he refers to himself as an \athlete student"" rather than a ""student athlete"" in interviews. It is the double standard that allows schools to hemorrhage money on the football team while cutting minor programs to save a couple thousand dollars. It is the double standard that would probably allow junior runningback Jerone Pettus-the greatest lost cause in all of college football-to make significantly more than the top women's pole vaulter in the country if student-athletes got paid.
What, then, is the solution? Student athletes deserve some compensation because, of the good they bring to campus, especially on larger campuses such as this one. Many alumni become more interested in donating if their favorite team is doing well.
Student athletes deserve some compensation. Whether it is some sort of extra stipend or the opportunity to get jobs in the off-season. However, full-scale salaries would destroy the spirit of college athletics and leave the little guys in the dust.
