The Pioneer, Vol. 53 Issue 2

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CommentarySHOULDCOLLEGEATHLETESBE PAID?24 / piercepioneernews.comNovember. 2019 / Vol. 53, Issue 2
CommentaryKevin Collins / Staff photosBy MATT SLATERStaff WriterThe debate of whether or not weshould be paying college athletes hascome to prominence with the introductionof a new California law regardingthe subject. Recently, California governorGavin Newsom signed the Fair Pay toPlay Act, which would allow college athletesto make money from sponsorshipsand product endorsements.The National Collegiate AthleticAssociation objects to this law. Accordingto NPR, they see it as a threat to thetraditional model amateurism in collegeathletics. However, considering thatcolleges make money off of the athleticgames, it doesn’t seem so fair that the studentsaren’t being compensated, but theirprofessional counterparts are compensatedwith significant payment.Take Zion Williamson, a basketballplayer from Duke University, for anexample. According to The New YorkTimes, Williamson is college basketball’sbest and most prominent player.However, back in February, hesuffered an injury to his right knee afterhis sneaker split open during a game.This unfortunate event led to calls forhim to stop playing college basketball,seeing as he was already an NBAdraft prospect.This drew criticism towards the NCAAfor not paying student athletes. In anothercase years earlier, a college footballplayer chose to end his college career prematurelyafter receiving an injury moreserious than Williamson’s. This was dueto the fact that he wouldn’t be compensated,along with the athlete wanting tolimit the risk to his professional payday,according to the NYT.Of course, there are arguments againstpaying college athletes. Some collegeathletes get numerous privileges from theschools they’re at - scholarships, reducedfees, and getting priority when pickingclasses for each term. However, the lawdoes not say that the students wouldget paid by the college itself, or by theNCAA.The money would come from sponsorshipsby outside companies to use theirname, image, and likeness for productendorsements and advertisements.If the money paid to athletes camefrom the university, the student athleteswould become student employees, presentingTitle IX challenges.There are cases of athletes beingdrafted into the professional leagues rightout of high school, meaning they mightnot have to play in college in order toget a position in a major sports leaguelike the NBA or NFL. This may distractthem, and prevent them from pursuingan education, which is a risky way to go.Besides, the odds of getting drafted rightout of high school is small, and having agood education is the safer route.So, while I still support college athletesbeing paid, I can see reasons why otherswould go against this.As we were making this commentary the NCAA is now in development to allowathletes to earn compensation for use of their name, likeness and imageafter a unanimous vote (NPR)November. 2019 / Vol. 53, Issue 2 piercepioneernews.com /25
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