Originally Posted by
the_real_MSU_is_us
Lot of hypocrisy in here from "small Govt" pro free market conservatives.
"They should make what soldiers make"- what in the big govt micromanaging the economy is this?? And why shouldn't YOU also make as much as a soldier? Why shouldn't pros make as much as a soldier, or the Apple CEO?
"These athletes are the wealthiest people on campus!"- statistically athletes come from VERY poor backgrounds. Baseball kids often come from money, but football and basketball are often single parent trailer park kids. And with school and their sport it's very difficult to find time for a "normal" job to help out.
"They should be happy with the full ride!!"- wait, they don't deserve the freedom to make more money because you think they make enough already? How is that any different than AOC saying CEO compensation should be capped? Tuition+the other benefits athletes get is about 40k of value; if they should be happy with that, why should you be allowed to earn more than 40k? Why subject this small subset of the population to an income cap when you'd feel outraged if you had an income cap placed on you?
"They can go pro in cutting grass if they don't like the income caps I'm impising on them!" - Again, you'd never want this logic applied anywhere else. If someone came to you and said "were capping your career field at 40k income, if you don't like that go cut grass" you'd be rightfully pissed off. You'd also say it's Big Govt meddling in the free market, and you'd be right.
At the end of the day, athletes are people. And people should have rights to their own name, image, and likeness. What's a more basic individual right than that? Telling someone "you're not allowed to sign a piece of paper and sell it" is about as anti personal freedom as you can get