Literature Review #2

NCAA Division I Athletics: Amateurism and Exploitation

Anthony W. Miller

MLA Citation:

Miller, Anthony W. "United States Sports Academy - "America's Sports University"" NCAA Division I Athletics: Amateurism and Exploitation. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013.

Summary:

This article is interesting because author Anthony W. Miller walks the line between multiple arguments regarding whether college athletics is considered amateurism or exploitation. He discusses three main arguments, two of which are cited to a man named Wertheimer. Both of Wertheimer's arguments support the general idea that student-athletes are being exploited because they are making the schools a revenue that they see no part of. The other argument is one of "mutual exploitation" which references the idea that colleges and student-athletes are mutually exploiting each other. This brings an interesting view of the debate because it is neither pro-athlete or anti-athlete.

About the Author:

Anthony W. Miller is the United States Deputy Secretary of Education under President Barrack Obama. He graduated from Purdue University with bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and received an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Key Terms:

Amateurism: reference to the fact that college athletes do not receive compensation for athletic services.

Exploitation: an individual gaining something by taking an unfair advantage of another individual.

Quotations:

"Although the NCAA and the schools reserve the right to use a player’s images and names for commercial purposes, no athlete may be endorsed by or receive any payment from businesses or corporations" (Suggs, 2009; Murphy & Pace, 1994).


"In other examples, athletes have been known to become student-athletes for the sole purpose of receiving expert instruction, media exposure, and training. As a result of those benefits, their future earning power increased" (Kahn, 2007).


"Deciding how to compensate student-athletes more fairly could potentially result in completely restructuring intercollegiate athletics. If the NCAA and its member schools truly desires to protect their student-athletes 'from exploitation by professional and commercial enterprises,' then they will be forced to reexamine their own practices" (2010-2011 NCAA Manual, 2010, p. 4).


Value:

This article references the arguments of Wertheimer that are in support of compensation, but also analyzes the argument that the exploitation may be mutual. Although the conclusion of the piece seems to be on the fence, it is more than likely that the author is in support of Wertheimer's arguments. The real value to my research, however, comes in the form of the aforementioned third argument pertaining to mutual exploitation. This is one of the "outside the box" arguments that I am interested in.