Pay...to play?

College sports are just around the corner and the debate about paying college athletes rages on.

No doubt, universities make lots of money off their revenue sports—football and basketball---but paying amateur players just seems like a disaster to me.

There are countless issues like, simply, how much? These are 19-year-olds and the cash will flow out of their pockets and buy stupid things---things that could potentially get them in trouble.

Then, do you pay them some sort of scale? The star running back will expect more than the placekick holder. And if you don’t pay the stars more, doesn’t it promote dissension? If you are the star, don’t you think you deserve more?

I think it promotes a whole “pro mindset” where the only true motivation is the paycheck you get in direct deposit.

Another issue is simply, will anyone go to class? Why should you-- if you have a good paying job as a college football player? These guys all think they are NFL bound. They won’t pursue a degree anymore which sort defeats the whole idea of even having college sports. 

Do you pay just the football and basketball players? How about the diving team?

You can have legitimate arguments on the other side of this issue. But please don’t make this about race. All too often in our culture, the race card is flipped into a debate in order to polarize.

I have to think what this issue means to the average Wayne County family who has scratched saved in order to send their kids to college. Tuition is expensive. They have sacrificed to get junior a degree while we are discussing whether or not someone with a vertical leap of 32 inches should not only get free tuition----but a salary to-boot. It’s perverse.

   

And so for me-----if a high school player is good enough to go pro, let them.

But leave college athletics alone.