By Trisha Ranney
In response to Maegan Carberry’s column regarding student
athletes (“Athletes play vital role in creating university
pride,” Viewpoint, May 11), I believe Carberry is overlooking
one of the reasons that some students have a disdain for student
athletes. It’s not that they dislike the athletes for
receiving perks; rather, it is because of the attitudes some
athletes express toward the UCLA community at large. In addition
many students find the desire to elevate athletes to a sort of hero
status pretty preposterous.
I agree that athletics is a major business with ticket sales,
endorsements and clothing retail reaping in millions of dollars
annually for the university. And like Carberry, I too believe that
student athletes are comparable to workers within a business, and
the perks they receive are a part of their salary.
That being said, is it necessary to elevate them to the status
of a hero?
If so, why not give the Fed Ex delivery man an endorsement from
Adidas? I know I’m being somewhat glib and sarcastic, but
what separates the delivery man from someone like Jason Kapono or
Danny Farmer? Just because he doesn’t have a killer
three-pointer or the ability to make spectacular catches, does that
make him any less valuable to society?
Let us not forget that the first part of the term “student
athlete” is the word “student.” In that way,
someone on the volleyball team is no more important than I am.
Different, yes, but better, no. We’re both students, toiling
through the same classes and hoping to get good grades on the same
midterms.
Another problem is the attitudes of some athletes. If you
believe that student athletes should be put on pedestals, then I
argue that they should act more like people in the public eye. I
know I’m not speaking for myself when I say that some of the
more well-known athletes on campus have been known to be rude,
condescending and pushy toward the “normal” student
population. When a person is rude to a customer at work, they will
not keep their job for too long. What makes the athlete more
special?
Carberry writes, “I always want to ask anti-athlete people
what they think it feels like to go to class and be physically
exhausted.” What makes anyone think that people who
aren’t athletes aren’t themselves physically exhausted?
I know that we’re not out doing those grueling three-hour
workouts, which are certainly draining. But for athletes,
that’s “all part of the job.”
Meanwhile there are students here at UCLA who work full time to
put themselves through college or help their parents share the
burden of paying for college. Working can be exhausting, too.
Let me say that I am in no way trying to demean the
accomplishments of our athletes here at UCLA, male and female. But
I do think that while they should be accorded a certain measure of
respect, that respect has to be earned, not just demanded.
The physical aspect of being an athlete is not what will earn
the respect of people here at UCLA. Rather, the “little
things” are important ““ appreciation for the rest of
the UCLA community for coming out to support their work, and being
grateful for the adulation that comes with being an athlete.
Ranney is a first-year undeclared student.