It's far from free. What were you doing at 6 am? Toledo's players had running at 6 am and lifting during their scheduled time. Great gig, sure but its far from what you see on TV or at the stadium. The injuries, including surgeries, concussions etc. is nothing anyone would kill for but something they know could / will probably happen. So until you have walked in the shoes, keep your foot out of their a**. Now, the Toledo Staff does a great job of treating these guys with respect. I'm sure other staffs may not be so professional and need to be watched.
While I agree that the tuition I earned as an athlete was more than enough compensation for me, I dont think this equates to wanting to be paid (which I am def against, tuition room board and books is the payment). But the idea that the NCAA claims they are not employees when clearly they are being compensated for their labors is ludicrous.
I think the NCAA arbitrarily rules on infractions with no real appeals process, inequally levies punishments unchecked, and def profits from the use of athletes personal data without having to get permission...going so far as to having the ability to search on their webshop for player jerseys by name. I support these guys for attempting to get a seat at the table to at least have a say in how they are treated by the governing body.
(01-28-2014 04:36 PM)tolfbfan Wrote: [ -> ]It's far from free. What were you doing at 6 am? Toledo's players had running at 6 am and lifting during their scheduled time. Great gig, sure but its far from what you see on TV or at the stadium. The injuries, including surgeries, concussions etc. is nothing anyone would kill for but something they know could / will probably happen. So until you have walked in the shoes, keep your foot out of their a**. Now, the Toledo Staff does a great job of treating these guys with respect. I'm sure other staffs may not be so professional and need to be watched.
Here Here...you think my destroyed knees, back, and shoulder equals FREE, then you need to get yourself checked for a concussion.
If I was a betting man, between the running, lifting, practicing, competing (indoor season and outdoor season), I venture a guess that I worked way more hours than my friends with "jobs." That said, I was happy to do and would do it all over, even knowing that at 34 yrs old Id have to sit under a hot shower every morning for 35 minutes of stretching just so I could stand up staright for the rest of the day.
There have been movements by graduate assistants and research assistants to "unionize." Nothing wrong with the statement that I can see. It's a freedom. The Universities can respond as they wish.
To my knowledge, universities have done nothing to discourage minor league football. This will always be the crux. No one is stopping players from applying to a minor league.
This is simply an attempt to extort a change in how business is done but it's a change that I wonder if the public universities can go, even if they want to? Universities have had incubators shut down for violating fair competition. I don't think they can have a professional sports team, regardless there are no or few professional teams to compete with for business.
Get rid of college athletics then. If someone wants minor league sports, then they are available. Dump the non-students that are looking for a paycheck. Give college athletics back to the students.
(01-28-2014 04:46 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Get rid of college athletics then. If someone wants minor league sports, then they are available. Dump the non-students that are looking for a paycheck. Give college athletics back to the students.
I agree with what you are saying, but just want people to realize it's far from "FREE".
Yeah, I don't think the players need to be paid for their efforts, thats what the education is...payment. But its laughable when the NCAA claims they are for student athletes when they make millions of dollars from the athletics and contribute nothing to the education...
(01-28-2014 04:46 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Get rid of college athletics then. If someone wants minor league sports, then they are available. Dump the non-students that are looking for a paycheck. Give college athletics back to the students.
Minus the "Get rid of... " part, I think that's pretty much the needed response.
Universites have mortgages to pay on expensive athletic facilities, mortgages paid by tv dollars. They have alumni groups that donate more to athletics than to academics. They cannot "get rid of..."
I respect what the college athlete goes through but competing against those challenges, like any other successful college grad, is what makes them a viable candidate for employment in the non-athletic field. They certainly are not starving, not relative to your typical college kid who has no way to make the type of dollars working in the kitchen, that would balance the total of tuition and books let alone tutors should any be needed.
I do not agree that shutting down is a proper response. Showing the door to those that want to get paid is the proper response. You don't kick them out but you make sure they understand they have the option to go elsewhere. I don't think a single person is going to yell "scab" at some kid who then gets the open scholarship.
The article noted that pay-for-play is not even one of their issues. They are more concerned about concussion protection, scholarships that are guaranteed if the athlete suffers a career ending injury and the like. Those seem like reasonable things to me.
To be honest, I think we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg with the concussion thing. More and more NFL players coming out about their horrible medical states due to the concussions suffered. For every 1 NFL player, there are, what 100? college players, many of whom also suffered numerous concussions. The NFL can afford to shell out a billion dollars to try to answer things, but if (or more likely when) former athletes start suing the NCAA or individual schools, there's no telling what might happen.
Concussion protection? They want a guarantee against concussion. There's no such thing. They know the game they're playing. Are they claiming the universities are withholding some protection?
Regards scholllies, I've always wondered why those weren't guaranteed against injury. What does that come down to? Who gets to say an injury is that severe and how does it count against the Universities' limits? These are all simple things I would think.
Quote:Those universities will be flush with new cash in the coming years due to the advent of the College Football Playoff, which starts next year, and the signing of lucrative, long-term media contracts that will more than double in value by 2020, according to the SportsBusiness Journal.
"The NCAA...put all this money in the system."
Anyone who can't see what is happening here is incredibly naive. A certain "element" has taken notice of a place where there is a whole bunch of money and they want some of it.
This whole thing is orchestrated in an "organized" manner and the kids are being played as patsies.
And it just happens to be starting in Illinois.
Imagine that....
(01-28-2014 07:24 PM)eastisbest Wrote: [ -> ]Concussion protection? They want a guarantee against concussion. There's no such thing. They know the game they're playing. Are they claiming the universities are withholding some protection?
Regards scholllies, I've always wondered why those weren't guaranteed against injury. What does that come down to? Who gets to say an injury is that severe and how does it count against the Universities' limits? These are all simple things I would think.
I don't look at it as concussion protection, but more as proper health coverage. The athletic scholarships are year-by-year. If an athlete is not healthy enough to compete, there is nothing to keep a coach from taking away the scholarship and giving it to an able-body athlete, leaving the original athlete in the cold to deal with the long- and short-term consequences of the injury suffered for the team that just took away the scholarship.
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(01-28-2014 04:46 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Get rid of college athletics then. If someone wants minor league sports, then they are available. Dump the non-students that are looking for a paycheck. Give college athletics back to the students.
+1
(01-29-2014 09:32 AM)djsfw57 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-28-2014 04:46 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote: [ -> ]Get rid of college athletics then. If someone wants minor league sports, then they are available. Dump the non-students that are looking for a paycheck. Give college athletics back to the students.
+1
+2
(01-28-2014 04:28 PM)djsfw57 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-28-2014 11:54 AM)SylvaniaRocket Wrote: [ -> ]http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/1...abor-union
Boo hoo, poor players get THOUSANDS of dollars in tuition, room and board, and still they want more. A free education is something that other kids would kill for. Gimme a break.
shows how much you know about college athletes. alot if not all are not allowed to work.
im not saying pay them, but jesus give those kids an unlimited amount of money to at least go eat. it costs the college nothing.
how do you expect them to starve during the week because their parents are already paying tuition in some way and then expect parents to pay more and then expect these same students to have blockbuster games?
i cant count the amount of times i've seen some 40ish lady or man in del taco buying $50 bucks worth of food for their college kid. meal plans in college are screwball at best.
the biggest offenders i see are the 150,000 seat football stadiums where every seat is sold out and the kids cant get a damn meal afterwards without paying.
(01-29-2014 10:13 PM)crusher38 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-28-2014 04:28 PM)djsfw57 Wrote: [ -> ] (01-28-2014 11:54 AM)SylvaniaRocket Wrote: [ -> ]http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/1...abor-union
Boo hoo, poor players get THOUSANDS of dollars in tuition, room and board, and still they want more. A free education is something that other kids would kill for. Gimme a break.
shows how much you know about college athletes. alot if not all are not allowed to work.
im not saying pay them, but jesus give those kids an unlimited amount of money to at least go eat. it costs the college nothing.
how do you expect them to starve during the week because their parents are already paying tuition in some way and then expect parents to pay more and then expect these same students to have blockbuster games?
i cant count the amount of times i've seen some 40ish lady or man in del taco buying $50 bucks worth of food for their college kid. meal plans in college are screwball at best.
the biggest offenders i see are the 150,000 seat football stadiums where every seat is sold out and the kids cant get a damn meal afterwards without paying.
In spite of your ridiculous comment, I know plenty about college athletes. I also know that their scholarships pay for their food, as well as room, tuition, tutors, etc. Don't go giving me that sad song and dance about how they need money to go eat on. They are taken care of in ways that most college students would NEVER be taken care of. The bottom line is they are getting a free education that costs the other students many thousands of dollars. No sympathy from me at all.