On the TunneySide of Sports September 30, 2019, #763 Greed or Need?
After further review…If you are an eighth grader with superior athletic talent or perhaps you are the parent of one living in California, you need to pay attention to Senate Bill 206 now making its way through the California chambers en route to the desk of Governor Newsom, who is expected to sign it into law effective 2023. That effective date is when an eighth-grader will be entering college.
SB 206 is the Fair Pay to Play Act which, in essence, will allow a college student-athlete to hire an agent that will provide him/her with the ability to receive money for endorsements. This bill erases the critical distinction between college and professional athletes. The TunneySide has consistently held to the philosophy that the reason for attending college is to learn and achieve as a student first and perform as an athlete second. In this 21 century are we now to a point of abandoning that philosophy?
Among the many supporters of this bill is one LeBron James, super athlete in the National Basketball Association and now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. It is interesting to note that James never attended college but went straight into the NBA after St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio waiting out the time requirement between his school days and his professional debut. Kobe Bryant went the same route as James going from Lower Marion High School, in Ardmore, Pennsylvania to the NBA. Both of these superior athletes were closely followed before the age of 12 as it was evident their athletic prowess would succeed at the professional level. How many James and Bryants are out there today?
Of further concern is that if the State of California permits this bill to pass does that give the 58 California colleges an advantage in recruiting? The National Collegiate Athletic Association, (NCAA) may consider fighting it in court (very expensive for all) or barring all California schools from competing against other NCAA schools or, perhaps, restructuring its by-laws and join in with the California plan. In any event, change is coming. It may not be for the better.
The argument for SB 206 is that the NCAA, a non-profit organization, reported revenues of $1.1 billion for the 2017 fiscal year. Shouldn’t the athletes get some of that? There are many questions as to who and how much each athlete gets. Open that box and Pandora will appear!
Will you please log-in your opinion on SB206?
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