Michael Austin
University 150
Elizabeth Isenkul
October 27, 2014
College athletes as a whole, not just football players, should not get paid. These athletes are granted top notch facilities from, the weight room, the locker room, the dorms and practice areas. Also, division 1 programs supply their athletes with the newest equipment and sports apparel. Most division athletes are on full scholarships, which means their school is being paid for to play a sport. College tuition may cost up to 100,000 dollars or more, and the university decides to pay for it. They forget they are “student-athletes”.
University of Georgia Bulldogs running back, Todd Gurley, was suspended indefinitely on accusations of a violation of the National Collegiate Athletics Association rules(Darren Rovell, Espn). Todd Gurley was in the running for college football’s most covenant award, the Heisman Trophy and the Doak Walker. This all came to a halt on the morning of October 9th 2014. Allegedly, Gurley has authenticated at least 500 Gurley signed items with certificates of authenticity, including more than 300 jerseys, more than 30 mini-helmets, more than 70 photos and even 10 baseballs and nine Nike cleats(Darren Rovell, Espn). Whether Gurley received money or not is still unknown, but the signing of memorabilia is in strict violation of NCAA policy. Georgia is no longer selling Todd Gurley number 3 jerseys on its official website; the school was previously selling two Nike jerseys, one for $134.95 and one for $89.95 (Darren Rovell, Espn). Even though Gurley leads the Bulldogs with 773 yards rushing yards and eight touchdowns averaging 8.2 yards per carry, giving Georgia a solid 4-1 record he still does not deserve money(Darren Rovell, Espn). If athletes want to make money while in college they should get a job, instead of jeopardizing their career. Last year there was a case with an Texas A&M football quarterback. This player signed memorabilia and was suspended for one game. This type of punishment is unacceptable. The athletes take risk of getting caught because the consequences were just a “slap on the wrist”. In the Gurley case this season, the NCAA ruled him suspended indefinitely until further investigation (Darren Rovell, Espn). The NCAA finally stepped up and took control of the players; this will be a great testament of what will happen if you violate the rules.
Services, ESPN.com News. “Gurley Banned for Alleged violation.” ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.