"Reflecting on the shame of College Sports: Should NCAA Div I Basketball and Football players get paid?"

The debate of whether or not Division I Basketball and Football players should get paid is never ending. Many reasons support them getting paid, but many cons balance out the beam. A reason for why they should be getting paid is that they produce so much income for universities and still see no money in return, but the little they get from stipend money (stipend money is money given to student-athletes on scholarship, so they can pay their rent, get groceries, and have a little extra to spend) is not enough if the student athlete does not come from a wealthy family. On the other hand, many argue that universities are paying more attention to athletics than to what their main focus is supposed to be, which is studies. Even though, student athletes are being paid through their scholarships; this meaning that they do not have to pay for their education, the amount of hard work that is involved in being a student athlete has a higher price than what they are getting.
 As a student athlete here at CU I can easily name the reasons of why or why not student athletes should get paid. Like normal students we attend normal classes whether they start at 7 am or at noon. We have to regularly attend class, with the exception of competition. Extensions are rarely given to us and we have to meet with our assignments and tests like regular students. However, here is the fun part. While a normal student may be sleeping, by 6 am we have to be up and ready for workout at 7 (depending on the sport played). Right after workouts, many of us have to run to class exhausted, both physically and mentally. After a whole day of classes in a row, the time for practice arrives shortly, and just when practice is done and you think you are done for the day, you remember that your day is not over for another three to four hours because of all the schoolwork you have to do. Also, as I mentioned before, many student athletes that are on scholarship do not come from a wealthy family and many times, most of the time, money is more of a necessity for us than a pleasure to spend. If you ask my opinion, and based on how hard me and my teammates work, and how hard I know each and every other student athlete works, I would say yes to paying Basketball and Football players. But, at the same time if one group of athletes gets paid all athletes should get paid for all the hard work and sacrifices made by all of us.
Neira Ortiz-Ruiz

High School Sport

I think that the objective of high school sport is to provide a sense of being on a team and what teamwork is. To have to work hard and push themselves to achieve that goals that they want to achieve. It can also be a way to promote pride in their school. After reading the Demetrius Walker article, it seems that his coach was more concerned about the individual and how well he could promote them rather than promoting teamwork. The talent of this individual exceeded what the views of the team were, and it seemed as though the coach thought he would get a reward for this player. Accross the country, these objectives are being met by most schools, but when they get a superstar player who is bigger than the team because of media and the coach promoting his skills, takes away from the objectives of high school sports.One of the problems is that when you have a talented student athlete the pressure that gets put on them by the school, family, and the media can take the fun out of the sport and force the student to do things that are uncharacteristic of them. For example, cheating on a test on school that they have to pass, but because of bad time management and concentrating more in sports they do not exactly study for it and feel pressured to do well. One solution for this is encouraging high school coaches to help their students to succeed in both.
Neira Ortiz-Ruiz

"Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete"

Although once, professional athletes made tons of money, the moment when they retire changes their lives completely. They are now not getting a million dollar check each week and cannot keep on spending the amounts of cash they were before. A retired athlete, now has to find a way/ job in which he can manage to keep on living the luxurious life he was living while still playing. For most retired athletes this does not end well. Challenges like, not being able to spend thousands of dollars in a week, losing houses they cannot afford anymore, and getting in trouble with the law. This transitions is very hard for them because since the beginning, many of them went from not having tons of money to having so much that they just throw it away. Not really knowing how to invest/ manage their money, therefore once the source of the money making is gone is it hard for them to go back to the old days in which they had to budget and save up their money. Personally, I have been affected by bad decisions that my father (once one of the highest paid basketball player in Puerto Rico) made once he retired and did not know how to live without the pay checks he received every week. This affected his way of budgeting and controlling his money, because once he retired in basically 2 to 3 years he was finding himself in debt and with no money to pay for his child support. I think professional athletes should understand from the beginning of their career to the end that money is not never ending, they should learn to budget and save up so that them and their families can live a prosperous life without encountering any surprises in the end.
Neira Ortiz-Ruiz

"Sport, Politics, and the Olympics"

The 1968 Olympics are known to be Games of the XIX Olympiad. These were held in Mexico City, Mexico with about 112 nations participating in this event. Some highlights of this events were: The South Africa controversy, in which apparently South Africa was invited to the games, but since there were threats from both African American athletes and South American Athletes to boycott each other the IOC decided not to have them participate. Another event was the Tlatelolco massacre, in which students gathered in Plaza de las Tres Culturas and the government ordered to break it up, and ended up killing dozens of protesters and over 1,000 were arrested. One of the most important events was the Black Power salute in which sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos saluted, while the national anthem was playing, raising a black glove as symbol of the civil rights movement. Because of this both of these athletes were banned from participating in the Olympics, including a Australian sprinter, Peter Norman who wore the civil right badges supporting the American sprinters. These events all seem to be political and end up having political repercussions on the athletes/students who take a stand for a change. Once again the 1968 Olympics in Mexico and the events that revolved around it make the statement "sport is pure and devoid of political interference" false.

"London Calling: Globalization of the NFL"

According to the "London Calling" article, it is speculated that a team from the NFL will end up playing in London. This article leaves us with a lot to talk about and definitely decisions to be made before making this huge change in the league. Although this change can be a good thing, from the article I could find many cons of why this would not be such a good idea. As a student athlete I can relate with the toll that traveling can take on people and most importantly athletes. It is not only about spending hours on a plane being uncomfortable, but the fact that the other team is going to have the advantage is what NFL commisionaires need to understand. Whether it was the team that traveled to London or vice versa their ability to perform well is going to be affected. I think that, yes this is new revenue and this is globalizing American Football, but in making these decisions there should be more of a concern for the players and whether or not their performance is going to make the league better or not.

Neira Ortiz-Ruiz