Tim Tebow is one of the most electrifying college football players of all time. Now, instead of taking the side of people who are in the position he was once in, he has decided to speak against steps taken for these student athletes to get paid for their incredible talent.
Tebow went on ESPN’s “First Take” to share his opinion on California’s new bill that allows student athletes to be paid for the use of their name and likeness.
It was bad, really bad.
He starts off talking about how during his time at the University of Florida, he was right up there with the top jersey sellers in the United States. While that may be true, it in no way makes his statements credible.
Then comes the nonsense about what college sports is “all about” and how he’s glad he didn’t receive any money for his jersey sales.
Well, good for you Tim.
I’m sure if you had the same upbringing as other college athletes your take on that would be a lot different.
Tebow then goes into how we live in a selfish “me” culture and that back when he was playing it was more about the team than the individual. I may be way off, but I’d imagine if you’re not helping your team win as a college athlete, no one is going to put you in a position to get paid.
It’s incredibly ironic to hear about players making a spectacle of themselves coming from the guy whose biggest claim to fame was being a mediocre NFL quarterback who was most famous for praying on the sideline. It’s alright to make a spectacle of yourself as long as you’re using your god to do it, huh?
The part that really got me was when he talked about the love for your university being the driving force behind fans’ love for college sports. He’s absolutely right for saying that, but way off the mark in saying compensating players would ruin that love for the game.
As bad as it sounds, fans don’t give a damn about the players. When they’re playing well, fans love them, and when they’re losing, fans are quick to turn their back on them.
Take former IU men’s basketball guard Romeo Langford for example.
Coming to IU, he was one of the most talked about recruits in recent history, and people in Indiana treated him like a god. But when he underwhelmed in his only season with the school, a lot of fans turned their back on him, even though he played through a thumb injury for most of his tenure.
Langford did nothing wrong and put himself through pain for the entertainment of IU fans, and he still gets hate for how he performed. The fact of the matter is fans only care about winning.
It’s a myth that paying players would in some way diminish that love for their university.
College sports aren’t going to suffer whatsoever by players getting paid through endorsements. The same big name guys are going to go to the same big name schools, but now they’ll get some money for it.
It’s incredibly narrow-minded as a whole to say college athletes shouldn’t get paid because they’re getting a scholarship. If a company is making a profit off their likeness, the player should get paid for that. It’s really simple.
For a lot of college athletes, their sport is the only way out of a tough situation. They do the work of a typical college student, as well as put in the work to compete at a high level. The only reason the NCAA is so against this is because they lose power over these athletes, power they don’t deserve.
