Dan Wines on Paying College Players

Found this over at blutarsky.wordpress.com. Amazingly well-written attack on the idea of paying college players.

” The easiest way to fix the problem is to address the problem. Beginning in middle school, kids should be told by their coaches, teachers, and parents that they are going to be held to a higher standard. Athletic ability guarantees a free ride. It doesn’t guarantee an open door. If the adults involved in the lives of these kids adjust their mentality from “this is what you need to do to deal with it” to “this is where you need to be to be successful,” all of these problems go away. It’s time to stop saying that a kid from the wrong side of the tracks needs a paycheck because football is their way out and start saying that a kid from the wrong side of the tracks gets an education because football is their way in. Without athletic talent, a lot of the kids we continue to talk about, black or white, would only view a college campus while dropping off a pizza. If perspective is appropriately represented, these kids, given the opportunity of a four year free education, would embrace it, utilize it, and succeed because of it.
Fact is, college athletes graduate with degrees at nearly the same rate as the general student body. They’ve already proven they’re equal to their peers. Why continue the argument that these players, given free educations and equal opportunity, need yet another leg up on the kid who will pay student loans until they’re 40?
Every job has an entry level requirement. The NFL’s entry level requires a player to be three years removed from high school. Players have a choice. They can go to college and build their resume, or hope that three years removed from high school and without experience will get them drafted. How many have you seen skip college? Let’s be real. Let’s be accurate. Paying players creates more problems than it solves, regardless of what Jason Whitlock accepts as his current reality. The solution is as simple as realistic expectations and proper preparation. Can we be realistic for once?
I’m sorry that Ed O’Bannon didn’t cut it in the NBA. I’m sorry that Tyrone Prothro’s injury limited his NFL potential. Heck, I’m sorry that someone told Maurice Clarett when he was 16 that he was destined to be the next great pro running back. Most importantly, I’m sorry that the gravy training jerk-offs who told all these kids that millions of professional dollars were going to be easy ever existed in the first place. If you want to fix the problem, focus on the problem. If you wan’t to put a band aid on reality, pay college athletes and wait for the next problem to surface. I’d bet a healthy sum that paying college players creates more Antoine Walkers than Michael Jordans. Of course, Antoine Walker lacked the funds to pony up for that bet” Dan Wines

After reading the piece, thought maybe sadlerdawg had written it. There was a huge discussion on this board about player payment dapolla when you were away taking care of priorities.

This problem is just that, a serious problem and I think that we are going to see a lot of heads roll in the near future. Too much money being thrown around from Pee Wee Football all the way to the NFL.

I know what follows money in sports in many cases, and that is corruption. We are losing the game of football to a minority.

NFL football is in a tissy right now . . . . what is the problem . . . . greed. Wonder if Arthur Blank will get his new stadium on the backs of taxpayers? He is another one fighting over the 9 billion that folks like us have thrown into their very private pots.

I predict that the owners of NFL teams will back off and there will be football. One of the reasons I think this way is because of the OSU problems. Football fans without football or not so clean football will begin to show these folks who should be running the games.

Times are hard and going to get much tougher for the working class, and these fools want to change college football with cars, tattoos and the NFL (Players and Owners) want to argue about 9 billion on top of what they already have. . . . .

Good on us, the worker bees, piss on the others.

Buc, that author probably has a better way with words than I do, but yeah, that's pretty much always been my argument against paying college athletes.

Steve Spurrier has come up with the idea of paying the players a $300 stipend for every football game......AND he suggested the money come out of the coaches pay. It will be talked about at the SEC meetings but all agree it won't fly in that simple of a format. Many coaches have endorsed the idea though....Saban, Miles, Muschamp and several others.

sadlerdawg wrote:

Buc, that author probably has a better way with words than I do, but yeah, that's pretty much always been my argument against paying college athletes.

Don't buy the author above being better with words. I have found you to be precise, smart and above all I think a person that speaks from his heart. Hard combo to beat Marine.

Thanks, Buc.

wlayton, I think Spurrier's idea is quite corny. He said it would come $21,000 a game, or roughly $250,000 a year out of the "coach's" pockets. If that ever passed, would we be surprised to see coach's salaries increase by that same amount???