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Abstract and Works Cited

Abstract As the business of college sports continues to grow, the welfare and success of student-athletes is getting lost in the bigger, money making picture. College athletic programs are not preparing student-athletes for their futures, other than setting an unrealistic goal of making it to the professional leagues. This paper examines the costs or sacrifices accompanied with participating in college sports and how the athletic experience can hinder future success. The costs have been separated into 4 distinct categories; inability to profit from athletic abilities, injuries, underdeveloped career path, and social isolation from the general student population. Works Cited  “At Risk: Are Unpaid College Athletes Exploited While Others Reap Millions?” Knowledge@Wharton , 19 Mar. 2019, knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/risk-unpaid-college-athletes-exploited-others-reap-millions/. Carson II, Loftus C., and Michelle A. Rinehart. “The Big Business of College Game Day.”  Texas  
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The Business of Amateurs

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B01K90TE34/ref=atv_sr_def_c_unkc__1_1_1?sr=1-1&pageTypeIdSource=ASIN&pageTypeId=B01K90YZD8&qid=1587429432 The documentary starts with Scott Ross’ story. He was a  lineman for USC and carried on to play in the NFL. He claims to have experienced at least 12 concussions, as well as multiple times when he remember “shaking off” a hit and going back into the huddle. Ross has developed multiple mental health issues making it increasingly difficult to hold jobs and maintain relationships. His football career negatively impacted his life forever, ultimately passing away from an overdose.  During the early 1900s, President Roosevelt threatened to ban football unless it was made safe. As a response, the NCAA was formed to protect the health and welfare of the college athlete, but that view has drastically shifted. According to the documentary, football players in the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) division are worth over $137,000 a
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Vice Documentary

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaNgHkTBrRs Why College Athletes Don't Get Paid | Vice on HBO The top 5 conferences in the NCAA earned $6 billion dollars. This documentary travelled with the Michigan State basketball team. Not even a minute into the documentary a player is asked if it is hard to take advantage of academics while playing basketball? The player, Lourawls Nairn Jr., responds, “Definitely. I think that’s what a lot of people don’t see. You know, being a student athlete, missing a lot of school. One time, my freshman year, we played Duke and we got home at three in the morning and I had an 8 am and I had to be there.” He then added, “It’s a sacrifice, but it’s worth it.”   Martin Jenkins was a cornerback for Clemson University. He expected to have a career in the NFL, but had to have 4 surgeries throughout his college career. He went to training camp with the New York Jets and experienced other injuries and realized it was time for him to hang up his jersey.
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Argument and Counter-Argument

Argument: The business of college sports lends into the costs of college athletics; athletes are being exploited for economic gain, while many are not fully aware of the sacrifices that lay ahead when signing their letters of intent. College athletes make numerous sacrifices throughout their 4-5 years of college. In addition to the apparent risks, such as injuries and lack of time, athletes also face risks for their future. Most college athletic programs force athletes to put athletics over being a student. This sacrifice comes in many forms, such as choosing a less challenging major, forced to take certain professors and classes, or even to a lesser extent as just being too tired from practice to study. Centering life around athletics makes student-athletes miss out on the joys of the college experience. Counter-Argument: As Donna Menke discusses in her dissertation, athletes have more to gain than to lose from participating in athletics. Athletes gain support, an educatio
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Case

Essentially, I am arguing that athletes are being exploited for economic gain. Universities are heavily profiting from college athletics, while the athletes themselves never see even a penny of the revenue they bring in. Yes, many athletes gain a free or discounted education, but many do not get to freely declare their majors or have the time needed to devote to more demanding majors. The reality of the situation is that less than 2% of student-athletes go on to play in professional leagues. The college athletic system is setting up many athletes for lackluster future or even worse, failure.             Stanley Doughty was a defensive tackle for the University of South Carolina. Doughty forfeited his senior year of college to enter the NFL draft, 12-credits shy of a degree. Fortunately, he was drafted to play for the Kansas City Chiefs. Doughty entered the draft, despite 2 major injuries during his college career, because he was cleared to play by the Gamecocks team doctors. After h
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Frame

My framework is examining the real “cost” of college sports. It is widely known that college athletics is a highly lucrative industry that universities are financially benefitting from, yet leaving college athletes out of pocket. High school athletes sign on to college dreams with hopes of making it to pro-leagues and to receive a higher education at a fraction of the cost, if not free. Many of the students do not know the true extent of what they are signing away in their letters of intent. I believe that student-athletes make four great sacrifices, further known as “costs” of college sports. These 4 “costs” are being stuck in an athletic “bubble” on campus, narrow degree paths, injuries, and exploitation. I would like to examine how attachment theory lends into student-athlete injury reporting. According to findings in “Sport-Related Concussion Reporting and Coach-Athlete Attachment Among Collegiate Student-Athletes,” the attachment theory is a developmental paradigm that organi
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Literature Review 4

Citation: Houston, Megan N et al. “Health-Related Quality of Life in Athletes: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.”  Journal of athletic training  vol. 51,6 (2016): 442-53. doi:10.4085/1062-6050-51.7.03 Summary:                     Participation in both, interscholastic and intercollegiate sports, is on the rise. When anyone experiences an injury, doctors assess the patient ’ s strength and range of motion, but not so much the psychological effects of the injury. Sports medicine and orthopedic organizations press the importance to incorporate patient-based assessments to take note of the patient ’ s experiences. The outcome of these patient-reported outcomes (PRO) focus on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL). HRQOLs take into account the social, physical, and psychological health components of patients. The article brings together the research findings of the authors ’ searches for studies on college and adolescent athletes taking HRQOLs into account. The study in
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