College athletes are some of the highest praised students on college campuses. For most, this is a title that is well deserved. However, some of the athletes should really not be put on pedestals. Why? Because many of these athletes have had legal problems off the field and even before recruitment from high school. Granted, many of these legal problems are minor offenses or one time instances and these should be allowed to continue in collegiate sports . But, some bring to the college a long and more serious list of criminal activities. Should these serious criminal offenders be allowed to participate in college sports? I think the answer is no.
According to the article from Reuters, “College Football players' Criminal Backgrounds Probed” 7 percent or 1 in every 14 college athletes in a study of over 2,000 athletes had some sort of criminal background, either while in college or before they entered their perspective university. It was estimated that nearly 40 percent of these were serious crimes including 56 violent crimes from top 25 ranked college football teams alone. These statistics are overwhelming to the writers from Reuters. But, it was also mentioned that only 2 of the top 25 ranked teams actually conducted background checks on athletes. Just imagine how high the numbers would be if all of the top teams actually followed the lead of conducting criminal background checks on their athletes. The study showed that Pittsburgh University, alone, had over 20 athletes with some sort of criminal record. That number is definitely too high.
The CBS television station also produced the article,” Pitt, PSU Top Criminal Records Athlete List” on the high rate of athletes at the University who had criminal records. The article from the affiliate in Pittsburgh stated that Pitt had the highest number of arrested athletes of all universities in Division I college football. The article stated as well that Penn State was third highest. So, two universities in one state that rank high in this category. What is that teaching future players who may choose to attend a university in the state of Pennsylvania? Apparently it shows them that what they do off the field or during high school will not affect their ability to receive a scholarship to a state sponsored university. This is absurd! There are many athletes who could play football or other sports for these two universities who have maintained a clean record. These athletes are being cheated out of a scholarship for people who can not stay out of legal trouble.
To show just how big the problem is and how little emphasis is placed on background checks for student athletes, a special report by fox 59 “Criminal Records in College Football” found that only TCU, from the top 25 ranked college football teams, actually had no players on scholarship with a criminal record. The article also stresses that the number of athletes with criminal backgrounds would be higher if all schools actually conducted criminal background checks and if those who do also conducted juvenile arrest checks. According to this special report, the main cause of the failure to conduct checks was lack of funds. Most colleges do not have funds available in budgets to run checks on prospective recruits or those already on scholarship. This is a shame because again, this cheats those who stay out of trouble from getting the opportunity to compete in college sports.
After a review of studies and articles concerning athletes with criminal backgrounds, it is clear that this is a major problem. While most of the data was obtained from college football programs, this is a true problem in all college sports. So, what can be done to keep those who can not obey the law from gaining scholarships over those who do the right thing? More money needs to be spent to conduct background checks on athletes and recruits. That is the starting point of ending this unfair situation. Granted those with minor offenses should be evaluated differently than those who have serious offenses on their records. These minor offenders need to be given the opportunity to prove they are not repeat or serious offenders. But, those with serious crimes on their records should not be allowed to compete in college sports. What kind of message is this sending to young, potential college athletes? Schools and the NCAA should hold these athletes to a higher standard. Without that, many law-abiding players are being left out and that is just not fair.
photo credit: Connor Tarter via photopin cc
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