Should there be an exception for professional gymnasts to have the opportunity to also compete in college? What other Olympic sports experience similar effects from NCAA rules?
This question goes back to the debate of whether college athletes should be paid. If the college gymnasts are allowed to have sponsors and make money while they're in college, then it would only be fair to allow the other athletes to do the same thing. In my opinion this is completely acceptable. Because many athletes reach their prime in college, like the gymnasts discussed in the article, it makes sense to allow them to earn money from endorsements. However there are many people who believe that because these athletes are not professionals, they can't both play for college and have sponsors. One possible solution to this disagreement is to allow the athletes to take endorsement money only if they don't already have scholarship to the college. This would mean that the players who have been given money by the college don't get any more, but the players who haven't been given any have the opportunity to make some.
I don't completely agree with this having to do with college athletes being allowed to get paid in college. This sport happens to be very different then most other sports because athletes are in their prime in their late teens while in other sports most athletes usually hit their prime at around 27 years old. Other athletes have the luxury of playing both college athletics and the pros without passing their prime playing years. However, gymnasts risk missing their best years if they commit to college and the great opportunity of a sports scholarship if they decide to go pro. I think that gymnasts should be allowed to do both the pros and college but only gymnasts. Although I know it is unrealistic for the NCAA to allow this because the other sports will feel that gymnastics is being favored, it is the fair thing to do. No other athletes need to make as tough a decision as gymnasts about their pro and college careers like they do.
In my opinion gymansts should be able to perform professionally for their country, and play in college as well. However, they should be subject to the same punishments and rules when it comes to endorsements for college athletes, so while their situation is unique, they should be treated as every other college athlete if it involves money/endorsements. A system of rules and regulations would need to be put in place for this situation, as seen with Wieber, most of the gymnasts are in their prime right around when they would going to college. The NCAA should be understanding of this but players should still have to weigh their options and decide if they'd rather make money off endorsements or get the opportunity to perform for a college.
I do think that gymnast should be able to make endorsement deals while still attending colleges. But I think if this were to happen Gymnastics would be the only sport able to do this. It sounds a little unfair if gymnast get money in college and not any other sports but only gymnast have to make the decision of wanting to perform in college or perform as a professional and make money. Usually gymnast are at their prime during college and no other sports have this problem. I do think the documentary I just watched on female athletes is persuading this decision but I still think that gymnast should be able to make endorsement deals while still attending college.
I believe gymnasts should be able to compete at the college level, and for their nation. Gymnastics is a lot different than other sports because the athletes prime is in their late teens while, other sports are in their late 20s. This gives these young athletes a huge decision at around 16 to decide on going pro or competing in college. For example Simone Biles had a easy decision to go pro and won a lot of gold medals at the most recent Olympics. But girls who are the fourth or fifth best gymnasts on the team aren't given the same opportunity as the gold medalists because its harder for them to get endorsements and make the money they need to support themselves. Although the NCAA has strict rules against players taking money for endorsements, if these athletes were able to compete on both fronts the rules would have to be changed.
I think that gymnasts should be able to compete in college whiles still being an olympic athlete, however, I think that there needs to be regulations on their abilities to sign endorsement deals that regular college athletes are banned from. Even though this would discourage olympic caliber athletes from participating in collegiate gymnastics, they should still have the option to compete in college if they want. The biggest reason for this is that the age in which gymnasts are in their prime is mid to late teens. This right in the middle of the college timeframe. Often, olympic gymnasts don't attend college because of this. That is why I think they should be able to attend and get an education while competing in the sport that they love.
I believe that gymnast should be able to compete in college while also competing in the olympics. I think that this should be allowed because these teenagers are making such big decisions at a young age that they don't factor in the true risks of taking the olympic path. In the article it mentioned how if you are #1 or #2 then it is a no brainer to go to the olympics but if you're #5 it could be a stretch. These girls are just trying to make their dreams come true at a chance of bringing home gold for their country but are now realizing the dangers of doing so because if they come home without it and without the endorsement money, it can be hard for them to then get a college education to help them further in life. I personally believe that it is unfair to be giving these girls the option at either a college education or a shot at their dream, and that is why I believe that gymnast should be able to compete in college while still being an olympic athlete.
In my opinion gymansts should be able to perform professionally for their country, and play in college if they want. They should be subject to the same punishments and rules when it comes to endorsements for college athletes. Yes they are making money for their country, they still should be subject to the same exact rules until they graduate college. They situation is unique because they are competing on a world stage, not just on a college stage. Maybe they can give these athletes commission for going to the olympics when they get sponsors, but they should not be allowed to get anything in college.
There should be the opportunity for gymnast to compete in both the Olympics and in college. I would also say that this is how it should be for every sport. There are so many talented students and they should be able to compete. The NCAA prohibits almost anyone from competing in both college and the Olympics. This is a mistake. Looking at this from the NCAA viewpoint, letting students compete in both would actually be beneficial because it allows for more interest in college sports. From the Student's prospective, it is very beneficial because they have more opportunities to play. It's obvious that a change should be made. It is every kids dream to be in the Olympics, making a change would allow for student's dream to come true. This does not necessarily have to do with money. A student athlete should be able to compete in the Olympics, while not accepting any endorsements and other things. I don't think it should be too complicated.
There should be an exception for professional gymnasts to be allowed to compete in college. Like many other sports, athletes who are on the Olympic team also participate on their school athletic programs, if the school has a reputable enough program. I do not think that athletes should be allowed to compete in both, given that some athletes receive full ride scholarships to attend their school. Hypothetically, If an athlete were to be part of both teams, they would probably deviate from their school team because they are receiving money from their professional team. I am not aware of other sports that have similar NCAA rules like gymnastics.
I believe that there should be an exception for gymnasts. In the article, it said that the gymnast's prime is on an average around 20 years old. For most other sports, the prime for an average athlete is 25. So I think that they should have an opportunity to also compete in college. It is a legitimate reason to have gymnasts to compete in both. But I think to be fair, they should not have endorsements. I think it has to be the same because everyone should have the chance to get money off endorsements, but if other athletes can't get the opportunity, then gymnasts shouldn't.
I believe that gymnasts should be able to compete in college and at the professional level. These athletes deserve after all of their hard work to compete for a school and at the top level. Although, if they are going to compete in college and the Olympic level they should not be able to accept endorsements. Because college athletes are not allowed to be paid it would be unfair if gymnast. I believe it should be equal at the college level because if it wasn't issues would rise. Gymnast should be able to compete at both levels but should not be able to accept endorsements if they are competing in college.
This argument is a microcosm for the debate on whether or not college athletes as a whole should be paid. The fact is, even though gymnasts' primes are earlier, all athletes have a miniscule window that is considered their "primes." Compare this to basketball, where Simone Biles is the equivalent of LeBron James—each has the chance to make millions on endorsement deals the instant he/she turns pro. But Bridget Sloan's career trajectory correlates to the average D-I basketball player—both are immensely successful and have their college tuition paid for, but lack the star name to rake in the money that the James' and Biles' names command. The fact is, although the article tries to paint gymnasts in a unique situation, you could take the title (Gymnasts face complicated choice: Olympic endorsements or college careers) and replace the word "Gymnasts" with "football players" or "basketball players."
I do believe professional and olympic gymnasts should have the ability to compete in college. Although this may be very difficult with the work load they take on with competing in the Olympics, I do believe it should be a choice for them as well. Since Miracle is one of my favorite movies of all time, it was sad to me that they took away ammeters(college athletes) from performing in the Hockey Olympics even after such an amazing 1980 performance from the United States team. College is obviously important on an educational standpoint but I also believe that these gymnasts will not be able to pursue gymnastics forever. This is why with a college education, it will at least ensure them some stability after their careers in gymnastics.
I think that the rule that is in place now is fair. While their prime is at the same time of there college scholarship and you have to make a decision between which one you want that is up to you. If you want to go out and make your name in the world go for it. Many other athletes don't get the chance of making in pro and getting their name big out of college. So why should someone get a free education but then also get the perks of the pros. You have to make your choice of whether you want an education for free or do you want to go to the pros first then pay your way through college. It's definitely a hard choice that I can't imagine having to go through, but it depends on what means the most to you.
Professional gymnasts who partake in the olympics shouldn't be allowed to also partake in college gymnastics. I say this for many reasons, but the largest issues would be playing ability and money. As many people state above, this topic leads to the same question that's prevalent throughout college sports: players in college being paid. I don't believe college athletes should be paid and these olympic gymnasts shouldn't be able to go back to college. Likewise to players being paid, if these gymnasts went back to college, it wouldn't be an even playing field and there'd be too much money involved. The rule that's implemented now is fair and shouldn't be changed. Gymnastics' rules are different than baseball, basketball or football because players don't reach their highest level until after college.
For the amount of money that these athletes receive while being a professional is not enough to support themselves for a long time and they would need a college degree to apply to a good job. Not only have these athletes are given being recruited to a school that they could not get in only with academics, so it limits the athlete when they try to go back to the college solely based on grades and not participating on the college's team. These athletes who can be prone to injury and have to make a huge decision at a very young age will affect the rest of their life. Also, these gymnasts reach their prime in their late teens which puts even more pressure for them to become professional if they want to succeed during the olympics. I do not think that scarfing a college scholarship where they are getting a degree is worth it becoming professional where the endorsements are only when you win competitions. If these athletes go back to college, they will also have to use the money that they made while being professional to pay for college because they are ineligible of scholarships. Also, the money they make is to pay for travel and coaching fees to continue pursuing the professional level. I think there should be an exception for professional gymnasts because they don't get a salary upon the endorsements at the professional level like other sports and the athletes peak at such a young age they should still be able to play for the NCAA teams. I think that there should be a set back due to while being a professional they are being coached by the best coaches the USA team could hire, but the set back should not be too harsh. Another olympic sport is tennis where the athletes during college might be the best that team USA can find, but by participating in the games they are being supplied with money from tennis companies, and endorsement offers which goes against NCAA's policy. There is also a small gap of time where the endorsements will be available because they want the name to be known while endorsing, so if a person wins the championship but then wants to suspend the endorsement until they finish college, they can't because their name will possibly not be as well known in years after the championship.
Gymnasts participating in the collegiate level should also be allowed to compete professionally. Due to the fact that gymnasts hit their athletic peak at around the ages of 16-18, gymnasts should be able to receive a decent education while also having the opportunity to earn a decent amount of money while they still can. In that regard, they should still have the responsibility of a pro athlete when it comes to sponsorship deals etc, but should be able to have exception and compete on both levels simultaneously.
In my opinion, I think college gymnasts should be allowed to compete for their school and also be eligible for the olympics. The two shouldn't go hand in hand and shouldn't make it not allowed if the athlete picks one or the other. Gymnasts peek at around ages 18 and that would mean the athlete would be right in his or her prime when deciding to compete in college or the olympics. These athletes shouldn't have to make this decision and should be allowed to choose both paths if they want. I think if they were to do both, then the endorsements for the olympics should have a limit or regulation because they would still be a college student.
I believe those who elect to go pro and join the olympics as a gymnast should also be given the chance to receive an education. I also believe that if you choose to be on an olympic team... then that is your team. If you accept paid sponsorships you should not be allowed to play on a college team, in my opinion, because that defeats the purpose of college sports. But, to restrict a gymnasts opportunity for an education is ridiculous because there is a very little chance that, while a gymnast is in his or her "prime", they will produce enough revenue to support them for the rest of his or her lives. These athletes need a college education to succeed later in life because I highly doubt they will continue to be an olympic gymnast at the age of 40.
This question goes back to the debate of whether college athletes should be paid. If the college gymnasts are allowed to have sponsors and make money while they're in college, then it would only be fair to allow the other athletes to do the same thing. In my opinion this is completely acceptable. Because many athletes reach their prime in college, like the gymnasts discussed in the article, it makes sense to allow them to earn money from endorsements. However there are many people who believe that because these athletes are not professionals, they can't both play for college and have sponsors. One possible solution to this disagreement is to allow the athletes to take endorsement money only if they don't already have scholarship to the college. This would mean that the players who have been given money by the college don't get any more, but the players who haven't been given any have the opportunity to make some.
ReplyDeleteI don't completely agree with this having to do with college athletes being allowed to get paid in college. This sport happens to be very different then most other sports because athletes are in their prime in their late teens while in other sports most athletes usually hit their prime at around 27 years old. Other athletes have the luxury of playing both college athletics and the pros without passing their prime playing years. However, gymnasts risk missing their best years if they commit to college and the great opportunity of a sports scholarship if they decide to go pro. I think that gymnasts should be allowed to do both the pros and college but only gymnasts. Although I know it is unrealistic for the NCAA to allow this because the other sports will feel that gymnastics is being favored, it is the fair thing to do. No other athletes need to make as tough a decision as gymnasts about their pro and college careers like they do.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion gymansts should be able to perform professionally for their country, and play in college as well. However, they should be subject to the same punishments and rules when it comes to endorsements for college athletes, so while their situation is unique, they should be treated as every other college athlete if it involves money/endorsements. A system of rules and regulations would need to be put in place for this situation, as seen with Wieber, most of the gymnasts are in their prime right around when they would going to college. The NCAA should be understanding of this but players should still have to weigh their options and decide if they'd rather make money off endorsements or get the opportunity to perform for a college.
ReplyDeleteI do think that gymnast should be able to make endorsement deals while still attending colleges. But I think if this were to happen Gymnastics would be the only sport able to do this. It sounds a little unfair if gymnast get money in college and not any other sports but only gymnast have to make the decision of wanting to perform in college or perform as a professional and make money. Usually gymnast are at their prime during college and no other sports have this problem. I do think the documentary I just watched on female athletes is persuading this decision but I still think that gymnast should be able to make endorsement deals while still attending college.
ReplyDeleteI believe gymnasts should be able to compete at the college level, and for their nation. Gymnastics is a lot different than other sports because the athletes prime is in their late teens while, other sports are in their late 20s. This gives these young athletes a huge decision at around 16 to decide on going pro or competing in college. For example Simone Biles had a easy decision to go pro and won a lot of gold medals at the most recent Olympics. But girls who are the fourth or fifth best gymnasts on the team aren't given the same opportunity as the gold medalists because its harder for them to get endorsements and make the money they need to support themselves. Although the NCAA has strict rules against players taking money for endorsements, if these athletes were able to compete on both fronts the rules would have to be changed.
ReplyDeleteI think that gymnasts should be able to compete in college whiles still being an olympic athlete, however, I think that there needs to be regulations on their abilities to sign endorsement deals that regular college athletes are banned from. Even though this would discourage olympic caliber athletes from participating in collegiate gymnastics, they should still have the option to compete in college if they want. The biggest reason for this is that the age in which gymnasts are in their prime is mid to late teens. This right in the middle of the college timeframe. Often, olympic gymnasts don't attend college because of this. That is why I think they should be able to attend and get an education while competing in the sport that they love.
ReplyDeleteI believe that gymnast should be able to compete in college while also competing in the olympics. I think that this should be allowed because these teenagers are making such big decisions at a young age that they don't factor in the true risks of taking the olympic path. In the article it mentioned how if you are #1 or #2 then it is a no brainer to go to the olympics but if you're #5 it could be a stretch. These girls are just trying to make their dreams come true at a chance of bringing home gold for their country but are now realizing the dangers of doing so because if they come home without it and without the endorsement money, it can be hard for them to then get a college education to help them further in life. I personally believe that it is unfair to be giving these girls the option at either a college education or a shot at their dream, and that is why I believe that gymnast should be able to compete in college while still being an olympic athlete.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion gymansts should be able to perform professionally for their country, and play in college if they want. They should be subject to the same punishments and rules when it comes to endorsements for college athletes. Yes they are making money for their country, they still should be subject to the same exact rules until they graduate college. They situation is unique because they are competing on a world stage, not just on a college stage. Maybe they can give these athletes commission for going to the olympics when they get sponsors, but they should not be allowed to get anything in college.
ReplyDeleteThere should be the opportunity for gymnast to compete in both the Olympics and in college. I would also say that this is how it should be for every sport. There are so many talented students and they should be able to compete. The NCAA prohibits almost anyone from competing in both college and the Olympics. This is a mistake. Looking at this from the NCAA viewpoint, letting students compete in both would actually be beneficial because it allows for more interest in college sports. From the Student's prospective, it is very beneficial because they have more opportunities to play. It's obvious that a change should be made. It is every kids dream to be in the Olympics, making a change would allow for student's dream to come true. This does not necessarily have to do with money. A student athlete should be able to compete in the Olympics, while not accepting any endorsements and other things. I don't think it should be too complicated.
ReplyDeleteThere should be an exception for professional gymnasts to be allowed to compete in college. Like many other sports, athletes who are on the Olympic team also participate on their school athletic programs, if the school has a reputable enough program. I do not think that athletes should be allowed to compete in both, given that some athletes receive full ride scholarships to attend their school. Hypothetically, If an athlete were to be part of both teams, they would probably deviate from their school team because they are receiving money from their professional team. I am not aware of other sports that have similar NCAA rules like gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteI believe that there should be an exception for gymnasts. In the article, it said that the gymnast's prime is on an average around 20 years old. For most other sports, the prime for an average athlete is 25. So I think that they should have an opportunity to also compete in college. It is a legitimate reason to have gymnasts to compete in both. But I think to be fair, they should not have endorsements. I think it has to be the same because everyone should have the chance to get money off endorsements, but if other athletes can't get the opportunity, then gymnasts shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI believe that gymnasts should be able to compete in college and at the professional level. These athletes deserve after all of their hard work to compete for a school and at the top level. Although, if they are going to compete in college and the Olympic level they should not be able to accept endorsements. Because college athletes are not allowed to be paid it would be unfair if gymnast. I believe it should be equal at the college level because if it wasn't issues would rise. Gymnast should be able to compete at both levels but should not be able to accept endorsements if they are competing in college.
ReplyDeleteThis argument is a microcosm for the debate on whether or not college athletes as a whole should be paid. The fact is, even though gymnasts' primes are earlier, all athletes have a miniscule window that is considered their "primes." Compare this to basketball, where Simone Biles is the equivalent of LeBron James—each has the chance to make millions on endorsement deals the instant he/she turns pro. But Bridget Sloan's career trajectory correlates to the average D-I basketball player—both are immensely successful and have their college tuition paid for, but lack the star name to rake in the money that the James' and Biles' names command. The fact is, although the article tries to paint gymnasts in a unique situation, you could take the title (Gymnasts face complicated choice: Olympic endorsements or college careers) and replace the word "Gymnasts" with "football players" or "basketball players."
ReplyDeleteI do believe professional and olympic gymnasts should have the ability to compete in college. Although this may be very difficult with the work load they take on with competing in the Olympics, I do believe it should be a choice for them as well. Since Miracle is one of my favorite movies of all time, it was sad to me that they took away ammeters(college athletes) from performing in the Hockey Olympics even after such an amazing 1980 performance from the United States team. College is obviously important on an educational standpoint but I also believe that these gymnasts will not be able to pursue gymnastics forever. This is why with a college education, it will at least ensure them some stability after their careers in gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteI think that the rule that is in place now is fair. While their prime is at the same time of there college scholarship and you have to make a decision between which one you want that is up to you. If you want to go out and make your name in the world go for it. Many other athletes don't get the chance of making in pro and getting their name big out of college. So why should someone get a free education but then also get the perks of the pros. You have to make your choice of whether you want an education for free or do you want to go to the pros first then pay your way through college. It's definitely a hard choice that I can't imagine having to go through, but it depends on what means the most to you.
ReplyDeleteProfessional gymnasts who partake in the olympics shouldn't be allowed to also partake in college gymnastics. I say this for many reasons, but the largest issues would be playing ability and money. As many people state above, this topic leads to the same question that's prevalent throughout college sports: players in college being paid. I don't believe college athletes should be paid and these olympic gymnasts shouldn't be able to go back to college. Likewise to players being paid, if these gymnasts went back to college, it wouldn't be an even playing field and there'd be too much money involved. The rule that's implemented now is fair and shouldn't be changed. Gymnastics' rules are different than baseball, basketball or football because players don't reach their highest level until after college.
ReplyDeleteFor the amount of money that these athletes receive while being a professional is not enough to support themselves for a long time and they would need a college degree to apply to a good job. Not only have these athletes are given being recruited to a school that they could not get in only with academics, so it limits the athlete when they try to go back to the college solely based on grades and not participating on the college's team. These athletes who can be prone to injury and have to make a huge decision at a very young age will affect the rest of their life. Also, these gymnasts reach their prime in their late teens which puts even more pressure for them to become professional if they want to succeed during the olympics. I do not think that scarfing a college scholarship where they are getting a degree is worth it becoming professional where the endorsements are only when you win competitions. If these athletes go back to college, they will also have to use the money that they made while being professional to pay for college because they are ineligible of scholarships. Also, the money they make is to pay for travel and coaching fees to continue pursuing the professional level. I think there should be an exception for professional gymnasts because they don't get a salary upon the endorsements at the professional level like other sports and the athletes peak at such a young age they should still be able to play for the NCAA teams. I think that there should be a set back due to while being a professional they are being coached by the best coaches the USA team could hire, but the set back should not be too harsh. Another olympic sport is tennis where the athletes during college might be the best that team USA can find, but by participating in the games they are being supplied with money from tennis companies, and endorsement offers which goes against NCAA's policy. There is also a small gap of time where the endorsements will be available because they want the name to be known while endorsing, so if a person wins the championship but then wants to suspend the endorsement until they finish college, they can't because their name will possibly not be as well known in years after the championship.
ReplyDeleteGymnasts participating in the collegiate level should also be allowed to compete professionally. Due to the fact that gymnasts hit their athletic peak at around the ages of 16-18, gymnasts should be able to receive a decent education while also having the opportunity to earn a decent amount of money while they still can. In that regard, they should still have the responsibility of a pro athlete when it comes to sponsorship deals etc, but should be able to have exception and compete on both levels simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think college gymnasts should be allowed to compete for their school and also be eligible for the olympics. The two shouldn't go hand in hand and shouldn't make it not allowed if the athlete picks one or the other. Gymnasts peek at around ages 18 and that would mean the athlete would be right in his or her prime when deciding to compete in college or the olympics. These athletes shouldn't have to make this decision and should be allowed to choose both paths if they want. I think if they were to do both, then the endorsements for the olympics should have a limit or regulation because they would still be a college student.
ReplyDeleteI believe those who elect to go pro and join the olympics as a gymnast should also be given the chance to receive an education. I also believe that if you choose to be on an olympic team... then that is your team. If you accept paid sponsorships you should not be allowed to play on a college team, in my opinion, because that defeats the purpose of college sports. But, to restrict a gymnasts opportunity for an education is ridiculous because there is a very little chance that, while a gymnast is in his or her "prime", they will produce enough revenue to support them for the rest of his or her lives. These athletes need a college education to succeed later in life because I highly doubt they will continue to be an olympic gymnast at the age of 40.
ReplyDelete