Former USC QB Matt Barkley takes to Twitter to talk about paying student-athletes
Former USC quarterback Matt Barkley opened Pandora’s Box on Twitter Tuesday afternoon when he broached the subject of paying student-athletes.
Barkley tweeted out a link to a Kickstarter documentary film called “The Business of Amateurs,” which is being made by former USC football player Bob DeMars. The film examines the monetary side of college athletics and whether student athletes should actually be considered employees.
Of course, this isn’t a new debate. The argument over whether college athletes should be paid has been one that has been raging for years and has recently gained steam from athletic administrators, especially in the SEC.
So, when Barkley, who now plays for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, tweeted out the a link to the documentary, he also shared his own opinion about the subject and conversed with fans about theirs.
@mattbarkley - The more I read and view on the topic, the more I am convinced that college athletes deserve a piece of the revenue pie.
— Ken McNatt (@KenMcNatt) May 28, 2013
@mattbarkley you're getting a scholarship, and Per Diem on the road... I think they already get more benefits than non athlete students! — D (@mississhippie16) May 28, 2013
@mississhippie16 true, but given the hours they “work”, they are limited to other money making options available to other students
— Matthew Barkley (@MattBarkley) May 28, 2013
Barkley even said he wrote a paper on the subject during his junior year at USC, which prompted a reply from former LSU punter Brad Wing, who said he did the same thing.
@mattbarkley I wrote one on the same thing bro! Set wage? Some sports bring in more $ than others. Do starters get more than back ups? — Brad Wing (@bwing38) May 28, 2013
There were too many comments to list here, but Barkley seeming retweeted most of them and responded to several. It was an interesting debate, especially since Barkley was a high-profile student athlete.
However, the one thing Barkley did seem to come back to was that determining who gets the money and how much isn't easy? Those two issues alone would continue to be an issue that plagues the NCAA and creates an unbalanced playing field for schools that simply can’t afford to pay all of its student-athletes, especially if there’s an NCAA-imposed number like the $2,000 that was originally suggested as a stipend by the NCAA.
But it’s still interesting to get an athlete’s opinion on it, especially when he can see both sides of the conundrum.
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