Why College Athletes Must Finish School First free essay sample

Introduction For many college athletes, the lure of playing pro sports is intoxicating. Dreams of fancy cars, luxurious homes, tailor-made suits, voluptuous women, and the mental images of a crowded stadium chanting their name is enough for any collegiate athlete to think about abandoning their education for a chance at stardom. When the dreams are solidified with million dollar contracts, think immediately is replaced by impulse. Left behind in the frenzy is the much needed college education that no one seems to care about any more. An athletes only hope is to complete a college education first for what lifes lessons has to offer later when hard-knocks is the final exam. Many people believe there is no need for an education because of the money that is made by professional athletes. They are indeed right. The average athlete earns an annual salary of $3. 3million. The problems are that many professional athlete are either bankrupt or in jail, mostly because of impulse control disorders that cause millions of dollars to disappear. We will write a custom essay sample on Why College Athletes Must Finish School First or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There is no wonder as to 78% of NFL players going broke within 2 years and 60% of NBA players are broke within 5 years of their retirement. Are they a product of their environment? Want to bet? It starts young. Most athletes who make it to the professional level are from lower to middle socioeconomic status where they have been involved in sports since they were young. According to the American Psychological Association, lower socioeconomic statuses correlates to lower education, poverty, and poor health. The effects are inequities in wealth distribution, resource redistribution, and quality of life. The American Psychological Association also identifies lower to middle socioeconomic statuses who are in college in association with the feeling of not belonging in school, thus dropping out before they graduate; perhaps the reason collegiate athletes impulsively abandon their education not only for the mere millions of dollars, but to fit in a world with peers who share the same socioeconomic statuses where they feel the sense of belonging. The problem is the impulsive behaviors continue and are only strengthen by those around them. The negative effects of lower to middle socioeconomic statuses are learned behaviors with a belief that they â€Å"need† certain items to fit in as normal Americans. So, when they see it, they buy it, -an impulse. Impulse is the automated response devoid of thought. A part of what makes an athlete great, but when too many actions are gratified through habitual repetition of impulses that control ill-eminent behavior off the playing field, disorder of rational thought gives birth to an impulse control disorder. The most troubling impulse control disorders are gambling, overspending, and hyper sexuality. The impulse control disorders that habituate bad behaviors are no stranger to professional athletes. As young athletes learn to act on impulse, they carry on the impulse behavior as they reach adulthood. By this time, cliches, privileges, and attitudes of superiority become a pattern that discerns a collegiate athlete in making critical decisions. Over time, impulse control disorders are so prevalent that athletes get used to other people making their decisions for them. The responsibility is then shifted, rendering the athlete powerless against his or her own destiny. As disorder norminates behavior through the absence of thought, responsible behavior become devoid as does the logic to abandon their college education for a chance as a professional athlete. Then again, how many of us would throw away the winning numbers to the lottery? The same impulse control disorder behaviors by athletes are similar to those that have won the lottery then lost it all. Meet Evelyn Adams. She won the New Jersey lottery not once but twice with the total winnings at $5. 4 million. â€Å"Winning the lottery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, â€Å"says Evelyn Adams, â€Å"everybody wanted my money. Everybody had their hand out. I never learned one simple word in the English language no. † Might sound familiar to some professional athletes that can’t just say no for squandering their money, or the collegiate athlete who cannot say no to the multi-million dollar contract. It is imperative for collegiate athletes to finish their college education because of the impulse control disorders that can be overly exploited by the other people and powers that be. Many people cannot phantom a collegiate athlete passing on the opportunity of a lifetime in the same light they see themselves to be foolish for hrowing away the winning lottery ticket. Friends and family often live vicariously through their beloved collegiate athlete in the fact they never been through college themselves. They end up rooting for their success all the way. That is until their athlete is approached by a pro-sports agent and asked to abandon their college education for a career at the professional leve l of stardom and riches. For family and friends, the benefits of a college education for their beloved athlete become null as they see the athlete’s opportunity for themselves. Yet family and friends are least of worries for the athlete to be concerned more for the powers that be. The money that professional athletes can generate draws other people with bigger intentions with less the caring. The powers that be are the television networks, owners, sponsors, and sports agents who receive millions of dollars with no regard for the well-being of the collegiate athlete or the effects of an unfinished college education. As the powers that be are concerned, the college athletes are their mule and forty acres. Athletes should not fall prey to the roar of the crowd nor the dollar signs promised in million dollar contracts. Completing a college degree teaches maturity and responsibility along with the many positive influences that his/her classmates may be to them. The fact that impulse disorders are exploited for everyone else’s benefit should raise a red flag that a completed college education is not only a wise back-up plan when their pro-career comes to a screeching halt, but a great tool for student athletes to learn life’s many lessons before they become pro.