In this capitalist society that we live in, it is easy to lose focus on what is important in life and become more materialistic. With that being said, we need to understand it and embrace it. The sports industry is not immune to this mentality. We all agree that sports are an entertainment for the fans that pay to experience them and that the main performers are the athletes, then it is only logical that any organization in sports should focus on taking care of the players and making them happy. It is common to see that organizations become more interested in making money, rather than taking care of the game and the athletes that play it. For example last week’s class discussion we talked about college athletes getting exploited by their universities and the NCAA. The main argument was that since these athletes are “student-athletes” they get paid with scholarships. So I ask: is the scholarship money given to athletes equivalent to the money that they make for the university? Probably not, so I think they should be given what they deserve, both more money and better ‘benefits’ such as health insurance and worker’s compensation.
Here is a quick video that pretty much supports my reasoning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCCM6_jsojk
On the same topic, I have to applaud the current NBA lockout, where the players have put their foot down and have asked for a bigger piece of the pie, hey why not? They know fans are paying to see them play, not the owners, right? In the times we live in, we have to understand that if we pay to see athletes play then it is only fair for those athletes to be paid for their performance and for the money they are making for their teams, organizations, and schools.
-M. Herrera
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