Recently, more and more people have begun asking questions about the legitimacy of the relationship between the NCAA and student athletes. What seems, on the surface, to be a mutually beneficial relationship – the NCAA can develop a great sport, the athletes can get a free education that they might otherwise not good – might turn out not to be so beneficial to all parties. Indeed, it’s beginning to look like the NCAA get the better end of the deal, by a long way. Of course, there are people and companies who come out slightly better in all arrangements. It doesn’t mean the person worse off “loses.” But what if there’s something more sinister at play here: does the NCAA knowingly fail the student athletes? Let’s take a look.
Caring About Education
It would be assumed that, since we’re talking about college, that education would be the most important thing. Sports are secondary. Yet this doesn’t seem to be the case when it comes to college football players. The focus is on the football. Players can be involved in football-related duties for around fifty hours a week during the football season; that’s the same as a full-time job, if not more, and doesn’t leave much time for the education that was supposed to be the player’s form of payment.
Intense Pressure
College football was, once upon a time, just as it was intended to be: an additional aspect of college life. Now it has taken on much greater importance, and the pressure has risen considerably. According to Santino Marchiol, this has lead to situations where those in control knowingly break the rules. They would give more money than was permitted to host new recruits, and train longer than allowed, too. Marchiol’s whistleblowing hasn’t yet brought about much change, though perhaps in the future it will.
Protecting Players
There’s an ugly truth about football, and that is that it’s dangerous. Professional athletes sign their contract knowing the risks; they deem it to be worth it if the contract means they’ll be set up for life. College football players are not paid, so any injury they suffer isn’t going to be offset by the big paycheck they get from the terms of their contract. There are suggestions that those at the top have known about the real and serious dangers that the sport poses to players for a long time, but haven’t taken any action.
Where’s the Money?
It’s always worth keeping in mind that college football is big business. Players aren’t not paid because there is no money. There’s a lot of it, it’s just going to other people. Indeed, the NCAA, a “non-profit” organization, takes in around $8 billion a year.
False Dreams
Finally, what about after college? Only 2% of athletes (of all sports) make it pro. The rest have to move on with their life, but aren’t given the tools they need to adjust from playing in front of packed stadiums to being a “regular Joe.” If the NCAA cared, they’d put more an emphasis on education.
