Reviving the “Student” in Student-Athlete

As defined by the NCAA in a widely viewed television commercial, “a student-athlete is a participant who balances being a full-time student and a full-time athlete.” The hyphen in between “student” and “athlete” implies that the “student” comes first, accompanied by a balance with the “athlete.” But lately, the “student” aspect has been overshadowed by our obsession with athletic performance and accomplishment. Take for example Johnny Manziel, the star quarterback for the Texas A&M Aggies. Manziel won the Heisman Trophy his freshman year, a prestigious award given to the best collegiate football player and recently has also been under increased scrutiny for reportedly breaking NCAA regulations. If one were to Google “Johnny Manziel’s grades,” only one of the ten top search results would contain information remotely regarding academics—the vast majority would be something related to the nature of “Grading Johnny Manziel’s Performance Against Alabama.” The one website that does address academics simply contains an article providing the “critical” information that Manziel has had to enroll solely in online classes, due to his immense popularity. Over the course of the past ten years, the media has had a heavy influence in causing the term “student-athlete” to morph into the mindset of “athlete first, student second.” However, it is essential that education be regarded as a top priority.

When considering what has caused us to value athletics more than academics, one must look no farther than the media. The amount of coverage a particular issue gets by the media determines how much the viewing public values that issue. For example, our society values the importance of the government shutdown far more than a recent Arizona law that extends a driver’s license ban to all immigrants granted “deferred action.” Sports and education are no different. It would seem that well-rounded student athletes are hard to come by. But this is not the case. They simply rarely receive the recognition in the media that they deserve. ESPN, the worldwide leader of sports that all but monopolizes the practice of sports broadcasting, is perhaps the main culprit. For three consecutive months in the summer, ESPN devoted at least half of each episode of SportsCenter towards breaking down every possible aspect and implication of whatever Johnny Manziel happened to be doing.

However, the attitude that athletics supersedes all else is not constrained to just the media. Ethan Tait is a student-athlete, Division II soccer player who attends Willamette University on an academic scholarship he received as a result of being the valedictorian of his high school senior class. Tait provided the following statement in an interview I conducted on September 6^th: “There is a lingering sentiment even on the college campus of athletic dominance. It is all based on what we consider ‘important.’ And, right now, people look down at a non-athlete as ‘just an academic.’”  When asked what can be done to regain the academic and athletic balance that essentially defines the student-athlete, Tait offered the following solution: “Student-athletes should receive no privileges in the application process. They should be required to apply like all other non-athletes, rather than receive special exemption from some prerequisites because of their athletic talent.” Lastly, Tait called for the true and original meaning of the student-athlete to reemerge, “A student-athlete is someone who embraces a dual-personality. We love our sport far too much to pass up an opportunity to continue playing; yet, we realize our ultimate goal is to further our education.” Ultimately, if student-athletes get the recognition they deserve in the classroom, our society prospers, making everyone more intelligent and well-rounded. If not, the true student-athlete, the one who harmonizes sports and school, is undermined.

By not emphasizing the importance of education, we promote to younger generations a misrepresentation of what success is. We foster the notion that success in life is based on athletic achievements. With such a small sector of the student-athlete population making sports a life career, should it not be obvious that we must stress the importance of academic achievement? Essentially, one who earns good grades, a college degree, and a job that is both financially suitable and enjoyable, is just as successful as one who goes on to play sports professionally.

By calling for a reevaluation of what we consider to be important (academic accomplishment should be valued just as much, if not more than athletic accomplishment), I am not calling for the all-out obliteration of sports, or even our love for sports. One would be hard pressed to find a bigger proponent of the positives that come out of sports and competition than I. Sports create a sense of camaraderie, brotherhood, and teamwork. Sports bring everyone together under a common bond and even go as far as uniting cultures. Sports also allow someone who would not have otherwise attended college an opportunity to receive financial support through an athletic scholarship. In fact roughly 1 out of 9 African American males on Division 1 campuses are scholarship athletes.

I do not simply wish for us to value “education.” I wish for us to value “well-rounded” education, in which academics and sports are both valued as vital components. Essentially, a well-rounded education is the basis for our future: The quality of the decisions made in the future depends on the quality of education that our youth receive now. It is critical that we recognize this issue of putting sporting accomplishments on a pedestal and devaluing academic accomplishments.  Instead of focusing on whether or not Johnny Manziel broke NCAA regulations by signing autographs for profit, and instead of preoccupying ourselves with every one of Johnny Football’s (his nickname shows where our priorities are, as well) life decisions, perhaps we should promote the student-athlete who not only excels on the football field, but also excels in the academic realm. Maybe Johnny Manziel is an extremely talented student, but we would never know because no one seems to care. Perhaps we should also concern ourselves with ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to actually receive a higher education and go to college. Better yet, we should focus on ensuring that all college students receive every resource needed to become a successful individual. And perhaps most importantly, we should promote the balance of athletics and academics and put the “student” back in “student-athlete.”

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