Student Athletes

One of the leading controversies in college sports today is whether student-athletes should be “paid to play” or not. Is their college education their compensation, and the playing time considered an internship? The NCAA rules state that only amateur athletes may play college sports. Their current definition of an amateur athlete is “one who engages in a particular sport for the educational, physical, mental, and social benefits derived therefrom and to whom participation in that sport is an avocation” (Lapchick and Slaughter 74). The rules for student-athletes prohibit them from accepting pay in any form. Those on one side of the issue claim that the NCAA rules are very clear; therefore, there should be no compensation other than education
Financially, this is an adverse situation for all involved. For example, if a college “pays” an athlete, then certainly they would not pay a scholarship too. Therefore, the athlete must use the money he or she received to pay the tuition expenses. Unfortunately, this money is now taxable by the IRS as income. More than likely, the amount of this income places the student in a different tax bracket, thus, preventing him or her from receiving any grants and possibly other scholarships. Moreover, it will no longer allow the student’s parents to claim them on their tax return. Once the taxes are paid, the student does not have the amount they need to pay the complete cost of their tuition. Not only is this an undesirable scenario for the student and the student’s family, it is also not beneficial to the college economically. Requiring colleges to pay the athletes would involve paying each of their athletes. This may not seem like a major issue, but one must consider the fact that not all athletes are going to college on a scholarship. Now there is an enormous added cost to the university. However, there must be something created in the form of compensation or benefit because many of these athletes are going hungry, despite attending some of the most prestigious universities in our country. Shabazz
There should be a benefit package, perhaps in the form of a medical package, in place for them. For example, if a player suffers an injury that either takes a while to heal or permanently prevents him or her from playing again, that student is at risk of losing their scholarship. This happens more often than one would think. Not only do they lose their benefit of a higher education, but they now also have mounting medical bills to pay. Since the college does not pay medical expenses, the responsibility falls to the student or his or her family. Even the term “student-athlete” rather than just “athlete” is a clever term to ensure that colleges would not have to pay workers’ comp to the athlete. Under current NCAA rules, the college must verify that the student has an insurance policy in place that will cover sports-related injuries; otherwise, they cannot play or practice. This insurance policy is above and beyond a normal medical insurance policy. Some of these policies cost around $3,000 per year, which is an added cost to the student and/or the family. The additional insurance policies also come with high deductibles that the student is responsible for along with any other uncovered medical expenses The NCAA rules state that the policy must cover up to $90,000 in sports-related medical expenses after deductibles. Although NCAA rules do not