Charlie Clarke Source 5

Thesis Question: How would paying revenue-creating student-athletes influence their academic motivation and performance?

Entry Question: How would paying athletes hurt them academically?

Source: Ross, Theodore. "Cracking the Cartel." New Republic. N.p., 1 Sept. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

This article, subtitled "Don't Pay College Athletes" discusses many different topics regarding the wealth distribution among revenue-creating student-athletes. Ross comes from a background in teaching, with specific courses discussing his teachings with college athletes. He uses his knowledge and experience to analytically recollect these moments and build arguments off of them. In the later stages of his article, Ross examines the ramifications of payment and continuously gives reasons not to award student-athletes with money.

I really enjoyed reading this piece. One thing Ross discusses is the clear counterpart, and makes note of it quite often throughout his article, which boosts his credibility. Another thing that makes Ross convincing is his experiences in teaching these athletes and the objectiveness that follows. I think this will be an important source for me to examine in the ladder portion of my essay.

This can be put in synthesis with nearly all of my previous sources, but in particular, the 'Bilas argument' source. Bilas, who is using his logic and common sense, didn't have as quality of resources to examine the issue as Ross did. However, they each still present valid points and would argue with each other. Bilal would argue that money would give student-athletes incentive to stay in school longer. Ross' main point argues that paying college athletes would not increase their motivation to academic perform at a higher level. He argues, in fact, that money de-values the academic portion of the argument. I think these two could go back an forth.

This has forwarded my thinking drastically. I now swing towards the side of not paying college athletes because I believe what Ross is saying, that student athletes don't have extra motivation with compensation, which actually de-values the educational side of college. I think that I am pretty close to finished. I'm going to find one more source that touches on the academic ramifications of paying student-athletes, but I think I'm pretty close to done.

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