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Blake Smith
WRTC 103
Prof. Fielding
6 October 2015
Should College Athletes be Paid to Play College Sports?
From the early beginning of the NCAA and of the foundation of college athletics in the
United States, terms of corruption and stipends have become more popular with amateurs trying
to gain income toward their careers as a student-athlete. Karaim states in his article, The
lifestyle of college athletes remains highly restricted by the NCAA rules and guidelines (4).
Karaim further explains in his article, through a developed chart, the idea of having college
athletes being paid stipends starting the 2016 school year and having affected their spending that
year as a university. Karaims article is characterized through a scholarly appeal with arguments
made by both sides of the issue and having a direct relationship from his article. The rhetoric of
both Reed Karaims CQ Researcher argument and Blake Smiths PSA relies heavily on pathos
and ethos to clarify the representation of the NCAA over college athletes in the dispute of being
paid as student-athletes.
Karaim details in his article of the ranging values of money that circulate from
broadcasting company to the NCAA to the specific colleges that give that income primarily to
the college coaches of the NCAA. The NCAA, which is non-profit (3), has been sued by 76
Northwestern players on scholarship (3) that escalated the argument for and against the
relationship of paying collegiate athletes for their efforts on their respective playing fields or
courts. The article notes the critical advantages and disadvantages of each side with the

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highlighting of the case between the NCAA and the College Athletes Players
Association(Karaim 3) who represents the players who are voting to unionize from the NCAA.
The article highlights the case as the National Relations Labor Board (Karaim 3) recommends
the ruling only to private schools due to being employees of the university (Karaim 3).
Karaim supports the efforts of those collegiate athletes with specific recognition towards the
Northwestern players on scholarship with detailing the specific hours they have with the
university and their general scholarships they earn from the private university of Northwestern.
From the furthering investigations from Karaims article, the author uses an appeal to
emotions throughout his article to distinguish between the universitys athletes and the officials
of the NCAA. Karaim notes in his article the players significance towards health care and
having overall scholarships that protect the player from expulsion from an institution. Karaim
expresses in his article, financial rewards collected by universities and the NCAA from
merchandising that traded from players popularity (4). The author discusses the importance of
being a student before an athlete and elaborating on the importance in which college athletics
bring popularity towards ones school through those athletic teams. Also, the likeness of players
through the NCAA has been popularized throughout the United States with the expansion of
video games that show the likeness of collegiate players without the consent from the
universities or the students of those universities. Karaim discusses this concept through the
statement: the video game maker, agreed to pay 20 million dollars and 40 million dollars to
respective college athletes who had likeness in the EA Sports game (4). Karaim further explains
through an emotional appeal that the collegiate game of college football through video games has
been popularized to the extent of getting the likeness of those players without the discussions of
the NCAA or those universities. The guaranteed scholarships the collegiate athletes receive have

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been based on the importance of being a student without the consideration of having a popularity
through merchandising and also through video games. Through the funding of college athletics
through designated scholarships, the use of pathos is prevalent through Karaims article.
Karaim further discusses in his article of the importance of the non-profit organization of
the NCAA which appeals to an ethical basis that the author tries to argue against in his piece of
work. The author notates in his article of the practical reasoning the NCAA uses to advance their
situation against the Northwestern players, who are trying to unionize from the NCAA in efforts
of gaining income for their specific relationship in college athletics. In his statement, Karaim
acknowledges, athletes are subject to an array of NCAA rules that restrict their ability to earn
outside income (4). Karaim discerns of the outside influences the collegiate players have with
earning incomes and having a reasonable status that can allow them to play in their athletic fields
and remain at the university due to heightened restrictions by the NCAA. The author details of
the importance of athletic programs that bring various amounts of income from the athletic
spectrum with specific competitions including college football and college basketball. Karaim
inputs in his article, But other experts argue that even in successful Division I sports programs,
the money made by football and basketball has to be stretched farther than most people
realize(7). Karaim details the input of independent sources to further credit his article and make
his sources credible and logical to the reader.
Karaim discusses logos in his article to circulate the given information about the NCAA
and the representation of the college athletes on the Division One level. The author details in his
written piece of the discussions in which player representation is critical throughout the
collegiate process with specific arguments towards gaining an income. The critical appeal of

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logical the author notates is compared similarly to the above appeals of pathos and ethos with
evidence being supported throughout Karaims article.

In the PSA above, the author created this image to develop a sense of argument between
the two sides who were presented in the above essay over unions and also with the NCAA. The
PSA details of the Northwestern football team which has the argument of becoming a union and
also of the NCAA which details the players has employees of the university and subject to
restrictions through their extent. The author of the PSA details the credibility of the source
through the non-profit organization, NCAA, and also the sources that are located in the Works
Cited. The creator of PSA directly appeals to college athletes that have been affected by this
related issue and also the audience of officials of the NCAA and of collegiate coaches. The
author of the PSA establishes pathos and logos through the use of an emotional appeal towards
money and having a logical appeal that can be distinguished through the question that is

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presented in the PSA. Through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos, the PSA can be discussed as a
piece that brings divisive argument between both sides of an issue in college athletics.
In the PSA, the use of emotional appeal is provided throughout the image as the influence
of income and money is a debated topic in the standards of the Division One level of the NCAA.
The influence income brings throughout the United States is relevant due to levels of socioeconomic status that is debated on levels of government and can be discerned through the
organization of the NCAA. Through the characterization of the PSA, the argument is organized
in the importance with a question being related to an answer in the PSA. The PSA tries to
describe to the reader the emotional appeals of an argument that can be discussed on all levels of
the NCAA and their discussion of having stipends to those collegiate athletes.
Through the developmental use of the image of the NCAA logo and of have the question
on the PSA, the author tries to discuss the appeals of ethos and logos respectively. The credibility
of the source is brought by the non-profit organization of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association which governs over all three division of intercollegiate athletics and competitions.
The question arises over what kind of income can collegiate athletes be given with respect to the
restrictions of the NCAA and the scholarships in which they already receive as student-athletes.
The PSA brings the argument and case of stipends which was brought up by the representation of
the Northwestern football team and their relationship towards a union from the NCAA. The PSA
also has the incorporation of a logical style with a question answered in the PSA by drawing
conclusions through the verbal argument. Through the ethical reasoning and analytical substance
of the PSA, the images and question describe an argument that can be further discussed through
the NCAA and students who represent their university on the basis of playing intercollegiate
athletics.

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The discussion of intercollegiate athletics is brought on by the athletes who play their
respective sports and also the discerning body which overlooks the athletics, NCAA. Through
the evidence of the essay and the PSA, the understanding of college athletics can be differing
through the perspectives of both athletes and those of the NCAA officials. The PSA shows and
describes the respective issue of college athletes and the verbal argument representations the
position of both student-athletes and NCAA officials. The PSA and verbal argument both show
similar and differing viewpoints, but the PSA influences the audience through a decisive
viewpoint of showing student-athletes and having respectful influence towards those studentathletes. All in all, the PSA and the verbal argument give significant evidence that can influence
either side on the subject of gaining an income as a student-athlete under restrictions of the
NCAA.

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Works Cited
Creamer, Chris. "SportsLogos.Net - The News and History of Sports Logos and
Uniforms." NCAA Logos. NCAA Logos, Sept.-Oct. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.
Ilori, Adegboyega. "3 AREAS WHERE MONEY IS HIDDEN AdegboyegaIlori.com." AdegboyegaIloricom. Adegboyega Ilorri, 30 July 2015. Web.
08 Oct. 2015.
Karaim, Reed. "CQ Researcher." CQ Researcher. CQ Researcher, 11 July 2014.
Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

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