SAEL Debate: Argument: NCAA athletes should not be considered employees, receive compensationSegment One: Opening Case, Argument1. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and board, and other allowable expenses. Collegiate sports is not a career or profession. It is the students' vehicle to a higher education degree” -US News, Students Are Not Professional Athletes2. Student-Athletes: students first, can receive scholarships, elite coaching; academic counseling; strength and conditioning consulting; media relations assistance; medical insurance and treatment; free game tickets- valued at up to $100,000. They can get into a school that they would normally not be able to attend, or be accepted to, or afford3. Unions can cause problems- these players could force negotiations with the NCAA- issues such as lockouts can arise. If these players are considered “employees”,than they could be fired. Doesn’t belong in college sports.4. If players wish to receive pay, than they can skip college and go straight to the professionals. If they wish to compete in the NCAA, than they will be students first.Segment 2: Response1. While its true the NCAA is bringing in mass amounts of revenue from college sports ($876 million in 2012) It’s a common misconception that these University’s and Institutions are raking in the money. While they are signing major television deals, they also have millions in expenses. According to ESPN, in 2012 only 23 division 1 Athletic Departments made profit, and almost all are either under subsidy,or receiving extra funding from the schools. Very few of even the most successful college athletic programs are self-sufficient. These institutions are not the money-seeking hounds they are made out to be. According to Malcolm Sillars in the Nature of Arguments, “When people find that something is a problem, they seek to find a cause for it” (Reike/Sillars 105).2. For players from poor backgrounds and in the lowest income levels, the NCAA offers need-based scholarships and grants to cover what the athletic scholarships don’t. There are other assistances too. Recently, The NCAA passed a new rule, knownas the Shabazz rule, due to UCONN basketball player Shabazz Napier publicizinginformation on how he often went to bed hungry. This allows division programs to offer their athletes unlimited meals and snacks, a change from their original restriction of 3 meals a day. This is a much better alternative to paying college students, who would misuse the money similar to how 3. If these student athletes have the professional mindset that they should be receiving money for everything that they do, the NCAA isn’t for them, and they should consider an alternate route to achieve their professional aspirations.4. Allowing player compensation would be extremely hard to regulate. Its hard enough to keep these players from receiving illegal benefits, and it still happens regularly Reggie Bush (boosters bought him a house), Johnny Manziel (autograph signing), Cam Newton (thousands of dollars in illicit payments- never proven). This opens the floodgates. From The Human Condition, Hannah Arendt states that “the various limits and boundaries…may offer protection against the inherent boundlessness of action” (Arendt). These limits are in place to keep order, alterations could impair that ability. Segment 3: Respond and DevelopAgreements: Players should be able to profit off of their own name Better insurance, facility conditions Regarding to Anthony’s stance on the need for reform in the NCAA, I believe that there are issues that require progress, but not every reform signifies progress. According to James Rachels in The Elements of Moral Philosophy, “Progress means replacing a way of doing things with a better way. But by what standard do we judge the new ways as better? 1. While the NCAA should not be responsible for handing out compensation to players, and the schools are financially unable to, allowing players to profit off of their name could be a reasonable solution. This is very similar to the approach takenby the Olympics; this would allow 3rd parties to help support these players financially through various opportunities such as commercials, endorsements, and appearances. It would also protect the schools from having to decide who should getpaid, whether it is only the moneymaking sports (football and basketball) or all participants, and how much they should receive. It would also be motivation for players to play better, as more success would lead to better offers. Although new regulations would have to be instituted, I believe it would be the best option going forward.2. Another policy in need of reform regards player conditions, specifically medical coverage and facilities.-Rather than a union, a health and safety board could be created-Make sure all athletes are covered in all instances-Scholarships can’t be dropped due to injuries from competition-Make sure playing and living competition are up to date-Grambling State- unsafe facilities- players refused to playSegment 4: Summarize and Conclude“If he will not be satisfied with the truth in the form of tautology, that is to say, if he will not be content with empty husks, then he will always exchange truths for illusions” Friedrich Nietzche- Applies to both sides.Both sides have to argue, and in arguments, exaggerations are made and illusions created.Class Sources:-The Human Condition- Hannah Arendt-The Elements of Moral Philosophy- James Rachels-The Nature of Arguments- Malcolm Sillars and Richard Reike-On Truth and Lies in a Non Moral Sense- Friedrich