tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post4521381653659263015..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: Better Alternatives for Young AthletesGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-39282272743172702402017-05-31T13:50:40.123-06:002017-05-31T13:50:40.123-06:00Dinwar,
Yes. The whole game of everyone pretendin...Dinwar,<br /><br />Yes. The whole game of everyone pretending some of the athletes are being educated is truly sickening both because it is obviously a sham, and because serious students are being cheated.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-11443438362357054222017-05-31T12:41:38.031-06:002017-05-31T12:41:38.031-06:00Bookish Babe's comments address the athletic s...Bookish Babe's comments address the athletic side. I spent a few years in the athletic department "tutoring" system, and my perception of the academic side is that it's even more of a con. Universities routinely refuse to allow academic integrity to interfere with athletics. There's some token lip service paid to getting these students to pass on merit, but at the end of the day all that really matters is athletics. They'd sit in for a session or two (of Geology 101: Rocks for Jocks!!) and demand they pass the class. <br /><br />That's without getting into the issues involved with finances. Science departments have to beg for new equipment, while athletic teams get multi-million dollar stadiums; funds are funneled to the athletic departments through a surprising number of channels; teams are sent all over the country, while students giving talks at conferences have to pay out of pocket; and so on. I recall one weekend being told I had no "school spirit" because I wasn't attending a random football game. The reason? I was giving a talk that had implications for relations between the US and Canada. <br /><br />http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/StupidSports.HTM<br /><br />That link is to an interesting article (by a retired geology professor) about stupidity in athletics. The entire site is interesting (please note "interesting" does not mean "I agree with all of it"). <br /><br />I've got no problem with college athletics. I played intermural sports, and did some European martial arts both inside and outside the university while in college; physical well-being is vital to mental well-being, and sports are a great way to achieve that. But in my opinion the formal, essentially professional sports establishment we have in the university system is horrendously broken and doing a gross and negligent disservice to the athletes it chews up and spits out. Dinwarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06138006602385020048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-40920094091966337532017-05-31T11:55:12.829-06:002017-05-31T11:55:12.829-06:00BB,
That's interesting to learn, and not terr...BB,<br /><br />That's interesting to learn, and not terribly surprising, given how altruistic the "ideal" of the "student-athlete" is.<br /><br />GusGus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-24639508917085729962017-05-31T09:47:13.458-06:002017-05-31T09:47:13.458-06:00This is an interesting development. I find the NC...This is an interesting development. I find the NCAA to be the biggest con going. I actually did a Toastmasters speech about the NCAA. It was Persuading with Power section of the program. The goal of the speech was to show the swindle that is the NCAA and how athlete should be paid since everyone else is benefiting financially. And that sports fans should stop watching NCAA sports. The term "student-athlete" has no legal basis. From my research the reason why the NCAA was able to use the term student-athletes was because the universities did not want to pay worker's compensation from the inevitable injuries that occurred. One case in particular from the early 60's set the precedent which designated students who play sports as "student-athletes". All because the university did not want to pay injury compensation. <br /><br />I also found out the scholarships these athletes receive are literally below the federal poverty level. Is it any wonder athletes take money from boosters, yet are punished for it!! The whole enterprise is corrupt; and leads to all kinds of moral problems for many of the athletes and the schools. I always believed there should be private sports clubs that are not affiliated with colleges/universities. College is for academics not sports.<br /><br />Bookish Babe Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com