by Kyle Evers | Columnist
Recently, the California state legislature unanimously passed a bill that will allow student athletes to earn money off of the use of their image.
Really?
According to the LA Times, the law will not let students be paid by their respective school directly; however, they can receive compensation from outside sources that use their image, such as video game companies.
Apparently we have all lost our minds. Now please don’t get me wrong. I am an avid sports fan of both college and professional sports. But this is just wrong on so many levels. These athletes are beyond talented but there are serious issues with this path California has decided to take. We as students go to college to learn and gain an education. Not to get paid.
College is a stepping stone to the next phase of our lives but the fact is, no matter what we shouldn’t be getting paid to play sports at the college level. Here’s why: how does one regulate who exactly gets paid?
Let’s be honest-not everyone on any sports teams is going to have their face and name in a video game or on a trading card. This new monetary incentive will create this culture of playing for money at the college level. Why go to school when all I have to do is be a star quarterback and earn money for it? The few star players in a few key positions earn all of the attention and therefore the money.
This new law benefits only a handful of athletes and, in reality, promotes only the adulation of money.
Further issue to this new law are the challenges that it will face in the courts. According to Sports Illustrated, the NCAA could challenge the constitutionality of the law under the Interstate Commerce clause, thus dealing with the issue of federal versus state law.
All in all, the law itself is a profound and scary approach to what we teach the next generation.
Forget academics- just be good at sports. Who needs a degree when you can go to college for free, play sports and get paid for it?