No pay for play: Student-athletes already reap benefits

College sports are among the last havens of unspoiled competition. A big reason for this is the lack of payment to the athletes. If you go to a college sporting event, you have the privilege of seeing high-level competition untainted by agents, personal endorsements and salary holdouts from whining millionaires. It is far easier to cheer for a college kid who is playing for the love of the game than for a professional who has no team loyalty, makes way too much money and is currently on probation. Paying the student-athletes would jeopardize this Eden. The NCAA would be no better than its contemporaries.

A certain basketball player was interviewed for the article in question. I'll just call him "P.L." No, that's too blatant. Forget that, I'll call him "No. 32." Anyway, he said he should at least get spending money from the University because he doesn't like having to beg his parents for the money, because it makes him ashamed. Is Mr. "L" implying that anyone who gets money from their parents to help out with college, which includes almost everyone, should feel ashamed?

If he's too busy for that, the article never said student-athletes couldn't work during the summer like my friends and me do. And if he's still to busy for that, there is money available to underprivileged student athletes who can't get it from their parents.

A football player who was interviewed, suffice it to say his first name rhymes with "coffee" and his last name rhymes with "shields," expressed the idea that football players make millions for the University and should be entitled to a share of those profits.

On the contrary, I think that student-athletes should realize that it is the University that gives them an opportunity to play and even provides them with their best fans, the students. Without Penn State, "Coffee Shields' " playing days would have most likely ended in high school. Why should any college athlete be paid when they receive such tremendous opportunities? This guy gets to play for Joe Paterno. Joe Paterno! I'll never even get to shake the coach's hand.

The biggest reason why I find the idea of paying student-athletes ridiculous lies in the title "student-athlete" itself. STUDENT-athlete.

First and foremost, anyone on any college team is a student, just like me or any other student at Penn State. When student-athletes ask for money to play, it basically means that they think they are more important than other students, or that they are worth more. Students are not paid to be students, they pay to be students.

But in fact, many student-athletes don't even have to do this much. They're here on scholarships. They get perks most students would give their right eye to receive. Imagine not paying tuition or room and board, or not paying for books twice a year. Imagine getting preferential treatment when scheduling. Imagine getting some of the nicest housing on campus. It seems to me that most student-athletes already do get compensation for their efforts. Maybe they should be happy with what they have -- it's a lot more than the rest of us get.

Now that I know how some college athletes feel, I'm going to have a harder time being a Penn State sports fan from now on. I'm disappointed.

As a student, I have a lot of pride in our sports teams. I think our athletes have a lot of class and show a lot of sportsmanship and school pride. But when college athletes ask for payment in excess of the perks they already receive and make implications that they are more deserving or important than other students, I just can't cheer for them like I once did.