The Hidden Mystery Behind Exploitation of College Athletes The NCAA, which stands for National Collegiate Athletics Association, is an organization that was established in the early 1900s to regulate sports in the collegiate level. Over the years, the NCAA has gained publicity around the country making a lot of high school athletes want to get athletics scholarships to play at a competitive level. Since so many athletes want to play at the collegiate level, it is a difficult achievement that takes a lot of discipline. Only around 2% of high school athletes get athletic scholarships that end up making you only pay under 11,000$ for tuition or sometimes nothing (O’Shaughnessy). These athletes that got the rare opportunity of an athletic scholarship …show more content…
Us, the people, believe when a college athlete gets hurt, they get insured by the school. But they really don’t. In the article “When Injured Athletes Leave Campus, College’s Responsibility Ends” Bill Pennington, a journalist for the New York Times, highlights the harms of college athletes by giving anecdotes of ex players that went through the excruciating pains of the NCAA. Bob DeMars, who was a defensive lineman for USC and now is a filmmaker and part-time teacher, suffered multiple painful injuries during his career that will continue to hurt him in his lifetime. Bob DeMars responds, “I wake up with a lot of things bothering me sometimes, and my knees are unstable” (Pennington). His description in his pain demonstrates how often and crucial getting hurt is when playing in college. He continues by antagonizing the school because USC didn't cover his expenses. He states, “If my knee goes out because I don’t have a P.C.L. and...I’m hobbled for the rest of my life, I hope [USC] Southern Cal helps me pick up the pieces. But they don’t have to” (Pennington). When he got his injuries, he expected, like everybody else would, the school to cover him. To continue on his pont, DeMars also states, “College athletes aren't employees, so there’s no workmen’s compensation...it is not a job. But it is sure is a business, and it’s a not a nonprofit” (Pennington). Because he says it is …show more content…
In the article “A Way to start Paying College Athletes”, Joe Nocera, a sports journalist for the New York Times, fabricates a solution to start paying college athletes. Nocera advocates for the NCAA to create a salary cap for the athletes. He states, Every Division 1 men’s basketball and football would have a salary cap, just as the pros do, except the amount would be vastly lower...In basketball, the cap would be $650,000. In football, it would be $3 million” (Nocera). By making a salary cap, it would help the college athletes since they are getting paid. Furthermore, it is affordable and it is nowhere near half of what the coaches make like John Calipari, as mentioned above, makes more than $5 million. To expand, he imposes a minimum salary that each athlete would have. Nocera states, “I would impose a minimum salary: $25,000 per player in each sport” (Nocera). Although this salary is not enough to make the athlete rich, it would be enough to live in college as a student. In addition to pay the athletes as a solution, another solution is to give the college athletes health insurance to help them if they get hurt when