Essays --

Today, college sports are no longer just fun and games; these sports are a business. But this business comes with a price. Arian Foster, a running back from the Houston Texans has recently come out stating that he took money on the side while playing football at the University of Tennessee. Fosters reasoning to why he took money on the side was that he was a college athlete who sometimes had no money to eat, "I really didn't have any money or food at times.. Our stadium had like 107,000 seats; 107,000 people buying a ticket to come watch us play.. We had just won. Signing autographs, taking pictures. Then I walk back, and reality sets in. I go to my dorm and open my fridge and see there's nothing there." (Rockwell) Foster argued that employees should be paid for their work and that he saw nothing wrong in what he did. He states that he was just a college athlete trying to get buy, trying to pay his bills and have food on the table. These college students are working for the schools a s athletes; they are putting their health on the line, providing revenue for the school and are working twice as hard as regular students at the school so they should not be punished for taking what the NCAA considers to be improper benefits. Firstly, in accordance to the rules set by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, an extra or improper benefit can be described as any special treatment or arrangement by an employee or a representative of the institution that provides the student-athlete a benefit that is not given to the other students of the institution and that is not authorized by the NCAA. The rule book goes on to say that â€Å"if the student-athlete receives an extra benefit not authorized by the NCAA legislation ... ...aybe shoes or even a free meal. In conclusion, â€Å"being a student athlete is tough because one represents the school, and the way one carries oneself will say a lot for one’s self and one’s school program. Being an athlete is not just playing the game, it is more like a job,† (McCleod). At the end of the day, whatever brings in money should be compensated accordingly, for any business. These student-athletes do not have to receive million dollar contracts but the universities and the NCAA should not punish these students for accepting improper or extra benefits whether it is from fans, employees of the institution, or recruiters. These athletes are not only students, but they are employees to their universities, they do not necessarily need to receive monetary value for their playing but being punished for accepting benefits that they earn and deserve is outrageous.