Amateurism: Helping to Preserve the Game or Helping to Ruin It?

Amateurism: Helping to Preserve the Game or Helping to Ruin It?

When you think about college the first thing to come to your mind is probably sports. College sports are blowing up bigger than ever and everyone wants to be apart of them; whether it's playing in them, watching them, or trying to take advantage of the growing popularity. If you're a fan of collegiate sports you are probably well aware of the topic of amateurism; which is an athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition.

This is the one word that completely haunts collegiate sports today. No matter what sport it is or what school it is, this is the most talked about topic in the nation. When I first started on this paper my question was should collegiate athletes be paid to play?

My dad grew up in Chicago and was raised in a very poor family. All his life it was his dream to go to college and make a life for himself. But due to financial issues he knew his family could never support his college fees. The only way he would be able to go to school would be to earn a scholarship. My dad pretty much gave up his social life and worked day and night on his basketball game. Everywhere he went he was dribbling a basketball every chance he had he would go to the park and shoot; shooting till the sun would go down and continuing to shoot even after it was down. He put everything he had into basketball so he could go to college.

Like my dad there are thousands of kids trying to do the same exact thing. Trying to make something out of nothing, and to better their chances in life. Most college athletes today come from families just like this. Their only chance to make something of themselves and to get out of the slums is in sports. Knowing this really got me thinking about the much heated topic of amateurism. So I asked myself what would I want if I were in these kids shoes? Should Collegiate athletes be paid to play? Would getting paid really be as wrong as everyone is trying to make it out to be? But most importantly is “amateurism” really helping to preserve college sports, or is it actually helping to ruin them?

Being a college athlete and a major fan I had these questions fresh on my mind, so I pondered my thoughts. Playing a sport in college is seriously like having a part time job. If you combine that with going to class, studying, and homework you have a full time job. With the amount of time, effort, and energy you put into it it's seriously harder than most jobs people do. College is not cheap I know this from first hand experience. And a haunting view of my bank account is a steady reminder that this is true. Now I am not on a scholarship like some athletes, but either way with or without a scholarship it is very expensive.

In my opinion athletes