The Commercialization of Sport

After reading the blog by The John Curley Center for Sports Journalism, titled Emmert on student athletes and commercialization (Sports, Media & Society), I was reminded of the reading assigned for class regarding the Battle of the Sexes tennis match that was so highly commercialized. In the blog, the author describes the commercialization of college athletics. The blogger quotes the new NCAA President Mark Emmert stating "Student athletes will never be paid as long as I'm president of the NCAA. Fewer than 20 schools break even on collegiate sports,” he added. "It is grossly inappropriate for universities to even talk about paying student athletes." The author goes on to suggest it is the perception of wealth at big-time programs that leads the discussion in the “pay-to-play” debate. Emmert believes there are larger issues at hand than the idea of paying college athletes and that we must address those more significant issues. I believe we must keep the amateurism in collegiate sport. There is no need to make every sport profitable.

Sport is constantly becoming more and more commercialized. The Battle of the Sexes article, written by Charles Maher, discusses the tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King which was televised in 36 foreign countries. The match was sponsored and promoted by multiple products including men’s toiletries while numerous celebrities attended the event. Maher states “the match got nearly as much exposure on the sports page as Watergate did on the front page” (Maher 43). Riggs was making commercials and TV appearances to promote the event and make money. ABC televised the match but created a battle with CBS in return. The Battle of the Sexes took place in 1973. The sports world has become far more commercialized since then.

Paying collegiate athletes or giving them deals with brand names is just another way to commercialize sport even further. I believe the “pay-to-play” concept is ridiculous and should never come into effect. Collegiate athletes are already given free college tuition and numerous other benefits through the university. Sport has become extremely commercialized over the years and we need to draw the line somewhere.