College Athletics. Should college athletes be paid - Essay Example

College Athletes Communication College Athletes There has been an ongoing debate on whether or not it is justifiable to pay college athletes for their participation in their respective disciplines. Opinions differ depending on the individual and this paper will try to come up with a justifiable conclusion. The paper will analyze the duties performed by college athletes, the sacrifices they make and the benefits attained from the college athletes’ performances. In summation, the paper will illustrate that it indeed is justifiable to pay college athletes.

Firstly, it can be established that college student have two main purposes, to play sport and attain an education that can sustain them in their future. Numerous college students have stated that they have to sacrifice their major of choice for one that require less in put in order to make time for their sports (Steeg, Upton & Berkowitz, 2008). This shows that from the first day of admission, the athletes already had to sacrifice something. Another well known fact is that college sport is commercial and it is marketed and sold in a similar fashion to all the professional sports (Goldman, 1989).

If the efforts of the students are being used to generate income, one can justify that they have every right to a share of the profits in the form of a salary. The NCAA however, limits use of funds generated to scholarships and doesn’t offer any additional payments even to cover minor expenses incurred by the students.Surveys have been carried out to analyze what student athletes thought of their first semester showed that the majority of them thought it was stressful and busy. This shows that the athletes are being overworked in a lucrative industry for no compensation (Higbee & Schultz, 2012).

Studies have also shown that the college athletes lack the necessary communication and negotiation skills they should possess as athletes. Little attention is paid to this aspect, hence, they are unable to negotiate or express their concern to their superiors (Camire, Trudel & Fomeris, 2009).As a majority of the student athletes are under stressful conditions, the communication style of a coach should be adjusted to cater for these conditions. Most coaches neglect the concerns of the students and paying them would help alleviate the stress from coaches with poor communication skills as the athletes will feel they are getting some reward for their input (Melville, Robey, Kawakami & Lemmen, 2011).

There should be a faithful relationship between an athlete’s advisor and the athlete because he listens to a large amount of the athlete’s private information, hence stressful conditions could be worsen by poor management of private information (Thompson, 2011). Communication is also a key factor between coaches and teammates as it has been linked to the teams’ success. A more successful team will generate more revenue, hence is more likely to create awareness for the need to reward students with suitable salaries (Carlson, 2011).

With new communication channels and technology, college sport is likely to experience more viewing and increased revenues. The increase in income is another reason why students should be paid (Moore, 2013). Through social media networks, a larger number of sports fans can be reached, hence, generating more viewings as mentioned before. Other funds inform of donations from the fans could be generated to pay the athletes (Clavio & Wlash, 2013). Poor communication between athletes and their advisors can lead to alcohol abuse.

Most athletes are stressed out from the fact that they have no salary or money to cover their expenses and they don’t have enough time to study. This leads to abuse of substances such as alcohol and other drugs (Jones, 2011).All these factors show the essence of communication in a college athlete’s life as he/she is prone to multiple stress disorders. In addition, communication is essential in passing the message to the superiors concerning the fact that playing college sport is in fact a part time job and students should be paid for their hours of work.

ReferencesCarlson, A. (2011). The connection between communication satisfaction and team success incollege athletic teams.Camiré, M., Trudel, P., & Forneris, T. (2009). High school athletes’ perspectives on support,communication, negotiation and life skill development. Qualitative research in sport and exercise, 1(1), 72-88.Clavio, G., & Walsh, P. (2013). Dimensions of Social Media Utilization Among CollegeSport Fans. Communication & Sport.Goldman, L. (1989). Sports and Antitrust: Should College Students Be Paid to Play.

 NotreDame L. Rev., 65, 206.Higbee, J. L., & Schultz, J. L. (2012). Taking A Pulse: Student-Athletes’ Descriptors ForTheir First Semester Of College. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 9(4), 253260.Jones, J. (2011). The Risk Factors of Alcohol Abuse Among College Athletes.Melville, L., Robey, P., Kawakami, K., & Lemmen, B. (2011). Coaching Communication:Effects of Different Coaching Styles on Athletes.Moore, J. H., & Carlson, A. (2013). Reaching the audience: new communication technologypractices in collegesports public relations.

 Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 23(1), 109126.Steeg, J. L., Upton, J., Bohn, P., & Berkowitz, S. (2008). College athletes studies guidedtowardmajor in eligibility. USA Today, 19.Thompson, J. (2011). Whitepaper Summary: Communication Privacy Management inCollege Athletics: Exploring Privacy Dilemmas in the Athletic/Academic Advisor Student-Athlete Interpersonal Relationship.