Blog Post #5

The issue of whether to pay college athletes or not has been a polarizing one in recent years.  The feeling of justice for people to be compensated for their work is one that cannot be circumscribed.  This longing for justice translates into collegiate sports.  One side argues that college athletes should get paid because they are essentially working for universities by engaging in their respective sports while helping the universities earn millions of dollars of revenue.  And the other side argues that college athletes are just students who are voluntarily engaging in sports and should not be treated as employees.  The head arbiter of college sports regulations and rules, the NCAA, argues that college athletes should not be paid for the aforementioned reason.  When Bill 206 in California, passed in September 2019, goes into effect it would allow college athletes to acquire endorsements and sponsorships.  The companies endorsing and sponsoring these college athletes would be allowed to use the name, image, and likeness of the students.  The documentary we want to create will outline substantive background information of the issue, the status quo (how college athletes are being compensated for their engagement today), and possible proposals that could help ameliorate the situation.  The action that must be undertaken is clear to our group: college athletes must be compensated more heavily for their engagement then what is being done now.  In order to reach a compromise of sorts, our group wants to propose a solution which involves not directly paying the student athletes by universities, but allowing the student athletes to have medical bills covered by the universities, receive payment from the sale of merchandise (involving the students’ name, image, and/or likeness) and autographs, and allowing students to be sponsored by various different sports equipment and sportswear companies.