I am a little torn about the questions, should college athletes get paid? After watching the presentation given in class the other day, I thought about the how much money an athlete brings to a University and how in some situations, when the student is a phenomenal athlete, the athletic department would be in disarray if that athlete were not playing. Granted, I always hear that the athletes get to live in the Enclave, paid for by the University here at BG (whether or not this is true), and they get most of their schooling paid for.
One side of me says that the athletes should get a small living stipend that would be equivalent to a minimum wage job. However, I do not believe in bribing athletes who are in high school or college or paying them huge amounts of money (under the table) because it is not fair to other athletes who are not receiving the money.
What I can't figure out is how the athletes presented to us in class were able to hide the enormous amounts of money they were given. I feel like if I was an athlete and someone was giving me hundreds of thousands of dollars on the sly that my parents wouldn't allow something like that to happen for fear of someone finding out and the moral aspect of it. If it were me and someone found out about the situation I would risk losing my scholarship, playing time, and reputation. I'm just not sure if it is worth it, when some of these athletes are so good they can just wait until they are a professional--then they'll have all the money they need.
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I wondered who lived at the Enclave, so thanks for clearing that up for me:-) On the topic of getting a small living stipend, I believe that is available to some athletes(perhaps up to $200 per month), but I am not sure what the circumstances are for receiving it. It may not be available to everyone. Obviously, $200. is not going to go too far in today's economy. While I understand the arguments in favor of paying college athletes--primarily in revenue sports, I just think it would really be difficult to do in a way that is equitable and fair to all involved. Some schools would be at a great advantage (BGSU would not be among them). As you suggested, it is obvious that a certain amount of money is already making its way to the top athletes. Receiving a few hundred or even a few thousand dollars is not likely to curb the corruption that already occurs.
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