“Come after me! I’m a man! I’m 40! I’m not a kid!”
Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy’s rant, while over the top, definitely raises some interesting points.
Gundy took his argument too far by saying the column in question was given to him by “a mother with children” and implying that the columnist in question wouldn’t understand because she doesn’t have children.
But his main point is that college athletes should not be criticized for their play.
While Division I athletes are not paid, they get enough compensation for their play. Their tuition is paid, they travel on trips and have some of the best services, such as tutors and meal plans, provided by their respective schools.
As part of their scholarship, the athletes agree to play for the team and all of the responsibilities that come with that commitment. I doubt there are too many Chip Hiltons left, the fictional Clair Bee character who refused to play with an athletic scholarship.
I’m here at Fairfield on a various forms of financial aid, including an academic scholarship. If my GPA drops below 3.0, I run the risk of losing my scholarship.
Athletes can be cut but don’t lose their money. If I perform poorly on tests, I lose my money; if an athlete performs badly in a game, he or she keeps his money – unless of course they happen to break a rule. It’s good to know that athletes are held to the same standards as the rest of us.
Yes, college athletes are amateurs and should be treated with more care than a paid professional, but they are not kids anymore. If they chose to come to a Division I school, they should realize that there will be expectations for their play.
My comments in the paper have been harsh before; just the other week, I compared the volleyball team in the MAAC to A-Rod in the post season. Last year when I implied the baseball team was bad, I received a threatening Facebook message from a member of the team.
If I was a member of one of the athletic teams, I would probably be slightly angered by disparaging remarks made about my play or my team. But I wouldn’t let an outsider upset me with his or her judgments.
Criticisms happen in every walk of life, just normally not in a public sphere. I may have been biting with those remarks and other sports columnists are too. But it’s our job to critique the athletes’ play, most of whom are late teens or early 20’s, not kids anymore.
College athletes may not like it, but it is the media’s job to criticize their play, as writers are criticized as well, in letters to the editor.
The larger problem is message boards. They are largely unregulated and fans can say whatever they want about a player. Yet, it is the media that is portrayed as cut throat while those same fans blast the players as well.
Student-athletes have all the privileges afforded to them by their schools in lieu of a salary. They can handle a little criticism in exchange.
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