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Media Members, Economists Debate Issue Of Paying/Not Paying College Athletes

The topic of whether or not to pay college athletes was debated Tuesday night in N.Y. at the Kaufman Center, with Bloomberg's Joe Nocera and economist Andy Schwarz squaring off against ESPN/CBS basketball analyst Len Elmore and USA Today's Christine Brennan. Nocera and Schwarz, who were for paying college athletes, won the debate by convincing more of the audience. The following are excerpts of the arguments made by both parties. Schwarz said to economists like himself and "almost any economist not on the NCAA's payroll, the NCAA's enforcement of amateurism is not noble." Schwarz: "It's the classic conduct of an anti-competitive cartel. ... Cartels are illegal in the United States. In the 1990s, one cartel that was trying to fix wages was punished by a federal court, which said -- and this is a quote -- 'the cartel ultimately robbed suppliers of the normal fruits of their enterprises.' That cartel was the NCAA." Elmore noted today, only one in seven athletes "are first generation." Elmore, arguing against paying athletes, said, "What does that mean? That means that, from a socioeconomic standpoint, they're not disadvantaged. And why is that happening? The rising academic standards, the cost of training to get to college, and finally, the middle class that can afford that." Nocera, arguing for payment, said, "When I was in college, I worked in the photography lab. I also had a scholarship. I paid taxes. I was an employee of the university. The world did not come to an end. It did not distract me from my studies. Just putting money into the equation is not necessarily this corrupting, horrible thing. You're paying somebody for doing some work. That's what happens in America all the time." Brennan: "Are there problems? Absolutely. On that we can agree. Is it perfect? Of course not. But my strong belief is that to pay athletes doesn't make it better" (THE DAILY).

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