311_Group_P1

Position Paper – Part One

Name: Edwin Carlos

Instructions: Please use this form as an organizer for writing your portion of your group position paper. You will be writing the opening paragraphs of the paper. You should clearly and thoroughly identify the problem that you are addressing. You may use your own research and the research from other members of your group. Be sure to follow the MLA citation format that you used when completing your JRP. Your portion of the paper should be a minimum of one page in length.

I. There is a problem in society today. That problem is

That problem is: College athletes put all of their efforts into their sport or sports, and do not have any money to support themselves. Over the past few years,the National Colliegate Athletic Association, or NCAA, has had many problems with college athletes demanding contracts throughout their years of attendance. However, for an example, college football is no longer very different from the NFL. It's all the sports in college not just football. It's part of the entertainment industry. Yet one big difference between the two remains: college athletes don't get paid. It's time to change this.

II. Facts that demonstrate that there is a problem are: (You may use your own sources and the sources of the members in your group)

Student athletes bring in a lot of money to the school by participating in a sport, or sports, and put forth 100% of their effort to make the team the best that they can. Which makes people want to come watch the games and sporting events that they are participating in. Some college athletes come from backgrounds where there is no parental involvement, or no money to provide assistance and unfortunatley they have to discontinue school because of it. Also while at college some student-athletes don't have that extra money from there parents to get food or anything that the school doesn't pay for so having a weekly allowance from the school would allow them to get those extra things. According to Derrick Brooks "NCAA rules prohibit athletes from working during the school year. Financial aid packages cover dormitory, tuition and book costs only". Basketball is one of the many sports that produce billions of dollars. As Mr. Williams points out in article, "The NCAA just cut an $11 Billion deal for the NCAA tournament, Not the regular season, just the tournament – and that’s just basketball. For an example think about this: There are 346 DI schools in basketball. If each one of them has 13 players, that’s 4,498 players. Divide $11 Billion by 4,498 and you get… over $2 million per player!" As you can see, in basketball alone, a player can make over two million dollars from the NCAA. I'm not saying give the athletes millions, but enough to get them by. Coaches are getting paid millions of dollar, NCAA is getting paid billions of dollars, and the schools are getting a cut of the profit. If everyone is getting a profit of these athletes performing, why can't the athletes them self get a profit. Rod Gilmore of ESPN believes, "Players have an absolute right to be envious and feel exploited. the age-old rationale that the student-athlete's "free education" is equivalent in value to his atheletic labor doesn't wash anymore."(Rod Gilmore, //College Football Players Deserve Pay for Play//.) Supporters believe that atheltes are working very hard, risking injury and making millions of dollars from televised games and other donations that they should recieve some of this reward.