re: Georgia's Name, Image, and Likeness bill signed into law by Brian Kemp

quote:

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It is a one year commitment by the school. It is free tuition and room and board. Throw in the fact that many of the kids are not smart enough to learn and excel in traditional College classes, so the colleges have created borderline useless degrees to make sure their money makers stay eligible and cast them away when they are no longer useful. Some kids can and do take advantage of it, but many do not and frankly many just plain do not have the aptitude for college to be a benefit to them. There is a reason colleges have academic requirements to enter.

So, it is a free education if you have the aptitude for an advanced education, play well enough to have your scholarship renewed, don’t have a major injury, and you have academic advisers who have tour best interests in mind.

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I think this is pretty spot on, save for the cut and dry nature of you’re either smart enough for college or you’re not. I think most anyone who wants to be educated on a college campus nowadays can find something of value to learn and grow from if they’re willing. The impediment comes from a mix of lack of self-motivation and team requirements that end up well exceeding the supposed maximum number of practice hours allowed by the NCAA. Most athletes devote 50% of their time to their education at best whereas it should probably be more like 75%.

To that end, the notion that there is anything “free” about the experience is absurd; they’re putting 40+ hour work weeks and are being compensated with tuition and housing as a result. You can argue whether or not that is a just compensation for the time and labor being exuded but there is an exchange of compensation for a service rendered that directly benefits the school.