Don’t pay college athletes

One of the hottest topics in college sports over the past several years has been whether or not college athletes should be paid by their schools for their participation.

On the  supporting side of this idea, people believe that if the schools are profiting off of the athletes’ names and talents, they should be compensated with part of the funds. The problem with this is that athletes aren’t at the college to make money. They’re there to get an education, earn a degree, and then be able to find a higher-paying job in the workforce.

While the rest of the student body has to find financial aid and scholarships to pay for the ever-increasing cost of tuition, these athletes are receiving a free education on fully-funded athletic scholarships from the college. Why then, should athletes not only not have to pay for their schooling, but essentially receive money to do so?

Paying athletes would, in turn, establish a class system in colleges. The upper-class would consist of athletes who pay no fees but are instead paid to attend classes, while having a lower-class consisting of students faced with the full financial burden of college, receiving no pay for attending classes.

Paying student-athletes would foster a culture of academic laziness and unnecessary privilege, defeating the purpose of attending college. If we allow students to attend college simply to enjoy life and get paid to play sports, we are setting the vast majority of them up for failure in the real world.