Should NCAA prohibit college student-athletes from receiving financial gifts?

Yes

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by Denise Dawson

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I was listening to a local radio show here in Los Angeles. The topic for that hour was is it okay that College Student-Athletes receive financial gifts/loans etc. from coaches, professional athletes, or anyone involved with the University?

The host for that particular hour was Jason Whitlock, a Columnist with the Kansas City Star Newspaper. His opinion was specifically directed towards the coaches. He stated that the College Coaches earn millions of dollars and that it would be a sin for them not to share with the kids who play for them.

Whitlock brought up religion and even went as far as to say that if the coaches chose not to share that God would be upset with them. Then he followed that statement by saying that he'd rather please God than worry about what the NCAA would have to say about it. As controversial as that sounds, I do agree that it would be really wrong morally for coaches not to share the wealth with their players. Some of the athletes come to college with nothing but raw talent and for the NCAA to put such severe restrictions on these student-athletes seems somehow, unfair.

The current NCAA Regulations go, as followed student-athletes cannot:

Agree to have their pictures or names used to promote a commercial product;
Accept benefits such as gifts, meals, and loans of cars or money, as offered by athletic interest groups (e.g., alumni or booster organizations) or anyone within the athletics program of the University;
Be presented by an agent or organization in order to market their athletic skills or reputation;
Receive any benefit this is not available to other students at the University.

The problem with these regulations is that some of these student-athletes come from impoverished back rounds and the restraint that the NCAA is asking from them have is, unrealistic. Most of them are just kids who just want to take care of their families. Is that really all that wrong?

In my opinion their should be certain regulations that should be followed, however a good example of the NCAA going too far is not too long ago Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets gave O.J. Mayo a student-athlete from U.S.C. tickets to a Professional Basketball Game. Mayo asked his coach Tim Floyd if he could accept the tickets and the coach gave him the okay. The NCAA came down pretty hard on Mayo, Floyd, and U.S.C. now to me that is a prime example of the NCAA taking the rules too far.

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