Reflecting on the Shame of College Sports

One of the most common topics talked about in todays society regarding collegiate athletes is the weather or not they should be paid for there services. Currently college sports are viewed to be just as popular and profitable as some professional sports and are only continuing to grow. In the article for todays blog it talked about how some Universities around the country are brining in significant amounts of money with some schools bring in around 80 million dollars a year. This brings up the idea why shouldn't  the athletes be paid? There the ones who are doing all the work and brining in the money at the end of the day. I personally believe that we should not pay college athletes for there athletic contributions and believe so for a number of reasons. First of all, where do you draw the line in who you are paying and how much do you pay them? Should the starting quarterback be paid as much as the cross country runner or the 10th man on the golf team? Also these athletes are receiving a free education along with the daily amenities that one needs including rent, books, food, etc. Which can add up to a significant sum at the end of the day. Another reason I believe in this idea is because I believe that there is something to say about the amateur athlete and what that stands for. However, I do believe that athletes should be allowed to turn pro when they want and should not be forced to wait for x amount of years, but then again that is a totally different argument. In the end, I believe that collegiant athletes should not be paid for there services and should continue to play for free based on there individual love for the game and the overall pride in representing there school as a whole. 

High School Sports

In todays society the classic stereotypes that are commonly associated with high school sports are continuing to develop and occur on a more common basis. The idea behind high school sports becoming more intense and only the top tear athletes participating is one that is becoming more and more true. High school sports are becoming a place where college coaches are more and more relying on to find the best athletes possible. In todays world high school sports are being seen as a stage to showcase ones individual talent with the common goal in receiving an athletic scholarship.  High school sports are ramping up the intensity each and every year and continue to see a decline in participants across the board because we now believe that athletes in high school should only focus on one sport. I believe that this tendency is what is damaging high schools sports today. 20 years ago the best athletes at different schools would play 2 maybe even 3 sports, now the best athletes are only participating in one sport and one sport only. Personally, when I began playing high school sports I was amazed at the difference in time commitment compared to middle school along with the overall time spent practicing and preparing for the games. Another thing that was noticeable was the overall status that the athletes where given. They where allowed to leave class early, receive extra time on there tests, and above all received a special gratitude that only they could achieve. I believe that these along with several other things are current problems associated with sports today. However, the biggest problem I believe in interscholastic sports today is that athletes think they are better than they actually are and believe that no matter what they do they should not be punished as hard as others. I also think that this is a problem that is not going to go away anytime soon because we are the ones as a society who let these athletes get away with certain things and are the ones who dont hold them to a higher standard.

Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete

Personally, I believe that the life of a retired athlete is different for each individual. For some, it is a life of fame and luxuries that some individuals could never even dream off and for some athletes I think it could be a life of unhappiness and misfortune. If you are an athlete that has been successful and responsible throughout your career the odds are that you will be able to live the life you want to. However, in some situations athletes have to forget about there past and move forward finding a job just like the rest of us. I believe the biggest transition that athletes face while transitioning to retirement is the fact that they are no longer being payed an annual income, and for some of these athletes that like to role around in big groups of supporters this can get extremely hard fast. I believe the reason that athletes struggle so much making this transition is because they have a hard time saying no to someone. We as a society have this belief that all athletes will be rich forever and more common than not that is not the case. In certain situations I believe the athlete themselves feels as if they owe everyone something because they made it and are afraid to turn someone away when they come asking for favors when reality is they dont have the funds necessary to be lending out support. Along with this idea of giving out money I believe that athletes as a whole spend way to much during there careers and do not spend enough time thinking and saving for there retirement. Overall, my personal opinion is that athletes around the word spend way to much money on unrealistic material things like cars and jewelry. I have thought about this topic before because we constantly see athletes in todays society filling for bankruptcy and I just cannot believe the amounts of money they have wasted during there careers and the fact that they did not have someone responsible telling them what they should be saving. 

Sport, Politics and the Olympics

During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City one of the most memorable political statements took place. Athletes, Tommy Smith and John Carlos where American runners who had just won the gold and bronze medal respectfully. After the race the two athletes where presented there medals, while the gold medalists (Tommy Smith) national anthem played throughout the stadium. Once the national anthem began the two men who where also African American raised there fist with black gloves on to salute black power. They also wore no shoes on the podium but chose to wear black socks only which represented black poverty within the United States.  After the event Tommy Smith later stated that the gloves did not represent black power instead they represented a human rights salute.  This event took place because these two incredible athletes wanted to be excepted for who they where not for just being Olympians. They wanted to make a statement that was felt around the world and thats exactly what they did.  Of the 5 political uses of sports that Sage and Eitten's discusses I believe the one that is most relevant to this situation is the use of the Olympics for political purposes by organizations outside the host nation because, these men where wanting to make a political statement to there country and identified the Olympics as the perfect stage to make a non violent statement that was felt around the world.  In regards to sports being pure and devoid of political interference I personally disagree with this statement. I believe that sports are one of the biggest and most powerful stages to conduct political movements and believe that we continue to see that in todays society. Both Smith and Carlos identified the importance of the stage in which they where on and used that stage to make a political movement that was seen and remembered around the world to this day. Sports are far more than just a game with a winner and looser they are historical events in our society and remembered throughout history for the actions and influences they had on our culture as a whole.