CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 1 Amateur Athletics CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 2 Affirmative Action Amateur Athletics American Military Policy Animal Rights Capital Punishment Election Reform Freedom of Speech Gun Control Immigration Policy Legalizing Marijuana Mandatory Military Service Mental Health Reform Physician-Assisted Suicide Religion in Public Schools Rights of Students Search and Seizure Smoking Bans The Right to Privacy Trial of Juveniles as Adults CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 3 Amateur Athletics Alan Marzilli SERIESCONSULTINGEDITOR Alan Marzilli, M.A.,J.D. Philadelphia CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 4 CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP,NEWPRODUCTDEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOROFPRODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVEMANAGER Takeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURINGMANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for AMATEUR ATHLETICS EXECUTIVEEDITOR Lee Marcott SENIOREDITOR Tara Koellhoffer PRODUCTIONEDITOR Megan Emery ASSISTANTPHOTOEDITOR Noelle Nardone SERIESANDCOVERDESIGNER Keith Trego LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications,Inc. ©2004 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary ofHaights Cross Communications.All rights reserved. Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica. http://www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for. ISBN 0-7910-7921-X CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 5 Introduction 6 Amateur Athletics Versus Economic Reality 10 High-Profile Athletic Programs Benefit Universities 18 The Commercialization of Athletics Harms Universities 28 College Athletics Provide Opportunities for Students 40 Athletic Programs Exploit Young People, Especially Minorities 52 Athletes Deserve a Share of the Money in Big-Time Sports 64 Student-Athletes Should Not Be Allowed to Profit From College Sports 80 Requiring Equality Between Men’s and Women’s Athletics Is Impractical 92 Fairness Requires Universities to Spend Equally on Men’s and Women’s Athletics 108 The Future of College Athletics 118 Notes 124 Resources 128 Elements of the Argument 130 Appendix:Beginning Legal Research 132 Index 136 CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 6 Introduction Alan Marzilli, M.A.,J.D. Durham,North Carolina The debates presented in POINT/COUNTERPOINT are among the most interesting and controversial in contemporary American society,but studying them is more than an academic activity.They affect every citizen; they are the issues that today’s leaders debate and tomorrow’s will decide.The reader may one day play a central role in resolving them. Why study both sides of the debate? It’s possible that the reader will not yet have formed any opinion at all on the subject of this volume—but this is unlikely. It is more likely that the reader will already hold an opinion, probably a strong one, and very probably one formed without full exposure to the arguments of the other side. It is rare to hear an argument presented in a balanced way, and it is easy to form an opinion on too little information; these books will help to fill in the informational gaps that can never be avoided. More important, though, is the practical function of the series: Skillful argumentation requires a thorough knowledge of both sides—though there are seldom only two, and only by knowing what an opponent is likely to assert can one form an articulate response. Perhaps more important is that listening to the other side sometimes helps one to see an opponent’s arguments in a more human way.For example,Sister Helen Prejean,one of the nation’s most visible opponents of capital punishment, has been deeply affected by her interactions with the families of murder victims. Seeing the families’ grief and pain, she understands much better why people support the death penalty,and she is able to carry out her advocacy with a greater sensitivity to the needs and beliefs of those who do not agree with her. Her relativism, in turn, lends credibility to her work.Dismissing the other side of the argument as totally without merit can be too easy—it is far more useful to understand the nature of the controversy and the reasons why the issue defies resolution. 6 CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:13 AM Page 7 INTRODUCTION 7 The most controversial issues of all are often those that center on a constitutional right. The Bill of Rights—the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution—spells out some of the most fundamental rights that distinguish the governmental system of the United States from those that allow fewer (or other) freedoms. But the sparsely worded document is open to inter- pretation, and clauses of only a few words are often at the heart of national debates. The Bill of Rights was meant to protect individual liberties; but the needs of some individuals clash with those of society as a whole, and when this happens someone has to decide where to draw the line.Thus the Constitution becomes a battleground between the rights of individuals to do as they please and the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens. The First Amendment’s guarantee of “freedom of speech,” for example, leads to a number of difficult questions. Some forms of expression,such as burning an American flag,lead to public outrage—but nevertheless are said to be protected by the First Amendment.Other types of expression that most people find objectionable, such as sexually explicit material involving children, are not protected because they are considered harmful. The question is not only where to draw the line, but how to do this without infringing on the personal liberties on which the United States was built. The Bill of Rights raises many other questions about indi- vidual rights and the societal “good.” Is a prayer before a high school football game an “establishment of religion”prohibited by the First Amendment? Does the Second Amendment’s promise of “the right to bear arms” include concealed handguns? Is stopping and frisking someone standing on a corner known to be frequented by drug dealers a form of “unreasonable search and seizure” in violation of the Fourth Amendment? Although the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court has the ultimate authority in interpreting the Constitution, its answers do not always satisfy the public.When a group of nine people—sometimes by a five-to-four vote—makes a decision that affects the lives of CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:14 AM Page 8 8 INTRODUCTION hundreds of millions, public outcry can be expected. And the composition of the Court does change over time, so even a landmark decision is not guaranteed to stand forever. The limits of constitutional protection are always in flux. These issues make headlines, divide courts, and decide elections.They are the questions most worthy ofnational debate, and this series aims to cover them as thoroughly as possible. Each volume sets out some of the key arguments surrounding a particular issue, even some views that most people consider extreme or radical—but presents a balanced perspective on the issue. Excerpts from the relevant laws and judicial opinions and references to central concepts, source material, and advocacy groups help the reader to explore the issues even further and to read “the letter of the law”just as the legislatures and the courts have established it. It may seem that some debates—such as those over capital punishment and abortion,debates with a strong moral component— will never be resolved. But American history offers numerous examples of controversies that once seemed insurmountable but now are effectively settled,even if only on the surface.Abolitionists met with widespread resistance to their efforts to end slavery, and the controversy over that issue threatened to cleave the nation in two; but today public debate over the merits of slavery would be unthinkable, though racial inequalities still plague the nation. Similarly unthinkable at one time was suffrage for women and minorities, but this is now a matter of course. Distributing information about contraception once was a crime. Societies change,and attitudes change,and new questions of social justice are raised constantly while the old ones fade into irrelevancy. Whatever the root of the controversy, the books in POINT/ COUNTERPOINT seek to explain to the reader the origins of the debate, the current state of the law, and the arguments on both sides. The goal of the series is to inform the reader about the issues facing not only American politicians,but all of the nation’s citizens, and to encourage the reader to become more actively CH.PCP.AAt.aFM.Final.q.Front 12/31/03 10:14 AM Page 9 INTRODUCTION 9 involved in resolving these debates,as a voter,a concerned citizen, a journalist,an activist,or an elected official.Democracy is based on education,and every voice counts—so every opinion must be an informed one. Interest in college sports is at an all-time high, and schools are cashing in with multimillion-dollar television contracts for football and men’s basketball. Other sports, such as women’s basketball, are generating increasing amounts of revenue. Supporters of athletic programs say this money is good for universities, but many people believe the commercialization of college sports has gone too far.Too often, academic departments struggle to buy books while athletic departments build new practice facilities.Ofcourse,class work is the last thing that many so-called student-athletes have on their minds. This volume in the POINT/COUNTERPOINT series examines current controversies in amateur athletics, including whether to toughen academic standards,pay student-athletes,provide more opportunities for women, and reduce the influence of money in sports.Some people think college sports are great for fans,students, athletes, and universities, and do not want to interfere with their excitement and tradition. But more and more people think that college athletic programs are on a collision course and wonder how long athletic departments can continue to receive exemption from taxes and business regulations while earning millions using unpaid athletes.