"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