You are welcome, I suppose, to call me an old fogey. That’s OK. After all, I am 71 years of age and while I like to believe I am a liberated American male, some things remain fixed in my set of values.
Such as this notion of playing college student-athletes. I oppose this nonsense. There you go. I’m on the record regarding this notion of paying scholarship athletes – who are getting an essentially free college education – money to perform in front of fans.
That is baloney.
I mention it at this time because March Madness is in full swing. Men and women’s basketball teams are competing for national collegiate championships and some folks already are ginning up the discussion that never goes away: whether these young men and women deserve to be paid because of their athletic prowess.
What do we have here? Suppose Texas A&M-Commerce University recruits a stellar football player for the Lions varsity team. What does the school do to get him here? It offers to pay his tuition, his ancillary fees, to pay for his books and perhaps even his meal plan. All he then has to do is show up for class and also to perform well on the field of play. Oh, and he must behave himself. This student-athlete, let us remember, is an ambassador for the school and for the community.
Whether that student-athlete gets drafted by the National Football League and goes on to earn millions as a professional athlete always is a dicey proposition. So few college athletes become icons in their profession. That means the education they receive in college becomes even more valuable. Remember that the college that recruited our hypothetical athlete is paying for his college education.
I checked by trusty World Almanac and Book of Facts for some data regarding what TAMUC charges its students to attend the school. Here is what I found: During the 2019-2020 academic year, students paid $8,858 in tuition and fees and $8,868 in room and board. That’s well more than $17,000 a year that a full-ride athletic scholarship would cover. Now, if “full ride” means “all expenses paid,” then that’s a pretty good deal.
Where I come from, I would call that “adequate compensation” for helping a young person toward a constructive future.
I also understand that young men and women jeopardize their physical health when they compete at high levels. That also is a risk they take knowing what might occur if they hurt themselves on the football field, the basketball court, or while playing baseball, softball or volleyball.
Again, they always have the free college education to see them through to a meaningful professional life.
Yes, I am old fogey. I admit it proudly. I also will stand strongly in the corner of those who consider the term “student-athlete” to mean these young people are students first.
John Kanelis, former editorial page editor for the Amarillo Globe-News and the Beaumont Enterprise, is also a former blogger for Panhandle PBS in Amarillo. He is now retired, but still writing. Kanelis can be contacted via Twitter @jkanelis, on Facebook, or his blog, www.highplainsblogger.com.Kanelis' blog for KETR, "Piece of Mind," presents his views, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of KETR, its staff, or its members.
Kanelis lives in Princeton with his wife, Kathy.
