Very recently I watched an episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that did a feature story on paying student athletes. This topic has become one of hot debate as of the past decade with universities, companies, and countless others making substantial amounts of money from student athletics, while the students themselves get almost nothing. Many people on the show, on the round table discussion, and elsewhere on this topic, seem to be on the side of universities paying our athletes for their duties. As if, the act itself of participating, or the education a student gets is not enough.
Let me first say that I am fundamentally against this concept of paying a student a salary to play in a game that is for a college team. I also, do not agree that the act of playing itself, nor the small scholarships that one gets, if they get one at all, is enough.
So, the questions become, 1) what is the real problem of student athletics and the capitalism structure, 2) what are the consequences for these problems and actions, and finally, 3) how do we fix the problem for the long term betterment of our society, the education system and the students?
First, identifying the real issues that surround our student athletes and all the money being made from their talents and hard work. Students say the issue is that everyone else is getting paid from the games they play in, but they see nothing. It must be noted that schools only have a certain number of scholarships for their players, meaning many players must pay full tuition, plus the cost of living as a student athlete. Also, the scholarships that are given do not give funds for living expenses in most cases, and never fully fund the cost of life as a student, let alone a student athlete. Universities, coaches, broadcasting companies, announcers, journalists, athletic apparel companies, and restaurants/bars all make very large sums of money in one aspect or another from these games and players. None of it coming back to the players themselves. But this is not the problem. The players not getting a paycheck is not the problem. The problem is that we as a society are exploiting these student athletes as an entertainment work force for the profitable gain of others. Now, I use the term "work force" purposefully. It is due to the fact that coaches, parents, secondary schools and universities downplay the educational role of a 'student' while attending academia, for the purpose of the 'athlete role' to be focused upon for revenue gains and fame from a very young age. This is a problem of perception and applied expectation, not a matter of finance, and it stems from capitalism.
Capitalism is a form of economic system that controls trade and industry for capital gains, or profit. But originally, state schools were looked at as institutions of learning for the development of a work force that was intellectually capable of continuing the development of our democratic country. This has changed in all aspects of education, I would argue. Education has now become a part of the capitalism engine of producing profit everywhere, and at all cost. Everywhere means that in areas that once were considered off limits for 'profit gain' are now suddenly in play. Education was a sanctity of ideology, no matter if you were a conservative or progressive. Education was where all social classes could develop a trade, a set of knowledge or both, in order to better themselves emotionally, intellectually and economically, which in turn helped the social structure develop into a stronger labor force and creative thinking force to develop innovative products and living conditions. That no longer exists today. Education is now the force of which corporate-minded development is cultivated for the purpose of profit gain. This has leaked into the realm of college athletics. Students now see themselves as employees of companies (the universities) without being compensated for the their labor. And being a student athlete is not easy, it is hard work. But corporations and companies will not give a piece of the pie to "kids" as they put it. (I often find it strange that we relate to 21 year old men/women that are in college as "kids" and 21 year old carpenters with a wife and children as "adults").
So what is the solution? It is a difficult one, and one that the corporate CEO's (university presidents) must agree to before it can work. And as we have seen in the past decade, CEO's are not interested in helping the lower classes, and that goes for University Presidents, as well. Universities are being run more and more like businesses every year. With growth and profit being a part of their process thinking. With the profit that comes from these college athletics, in areas that can be regulated, build an account of finances that go to the schools students, the student athletes and local state secondary students. First, use portions of the money to fund parts of the academic halls that are the real reason why students attend such universities. Develop programs that cultivate the universities as a learning institutions again, not corporate factories. Second, provide every student athlete with a full scholarship, living expenses and weekly allowance to live. Provide classes that teach these athletes what an education can do for them over the course of their life span (a college graduate will make $1 million dollars more over their lifetime then a non-college graduate). Have these classes teach them to see the long term goals of success, not just the quick financial gains that end up being the root of more problems then they had before they received the money. And finally, develop community programs in secondary schools that teach a perception of education as a valuable commodity, rather than a waste of time. Cultivate a culture of academic achievement for intrinsic purposes, not just financial gains. Develop comprehension of civic duty through education, which in the end builds a stronger civilian population.
But all this must first be dealt with in the halls of perception of what capitalism is doing to our society. We value money more than family, education, community or even self. Capitalism can do great things when handled correctly. But like everything we have seen in history, all philosophies fail to deliver a lasting practical approach. Progress is a necessary process for humanity to exist. We must change and alter and evolve with the world. And where this all begins is in how we educate our citizens, perceive our value of commodities, and balance our existence with our experiences. The concept of student athletes is just one area we can begin this process.
So, tell me. What do you think?
JP Wilson Gabor
