“Breaking It Down”

Dear UMD students,

You see them all the time: the red UnderArmour backpacks, the scooters, the official UMD apparel, the iPads, etc.  These things can also be known as a student-athlete.  Many students that I have spoke with in the past and present talk about the “luxurious lifestyle” athletes have.  Many people, not just talking about students at UMD but in general, only see the advantages of things when viewing somebody.  Hardly ever do they think about the disadvantages of that persons life.  We are all at fault for it.  One of those faults is that some students at the UMD mostly only see the advantages of what it is like to be a student-athlete on campus, and not any of the disadvantages.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I see billboards, posters, news articles, and apparel of a student-athlete from UMD I think “Damn! That’s really cool.”  But another thing that crosses my mind that others may not think about when they see those things is “Their face and jersey number are the center of this media piece, and yet they are not receiving a dime from it”.  Those people who are the cover of those media ads and apparel are people like Dez Wells from men’s basketball, or Stefon Diggs from football.  Those men are the face of Maryland athletics, and they don’t get to be compensated for it.  Don’t you think that is wrong of the university?  Of the NCAA?  Think about it…

Many people are self-persuaded to believe what they want to believe, but with this blog I hope to show the students of UMD another side, which is the cold hard truth.