04 September 2013 | A Very Bad Idea

I used to think that it was only political pundits who endlessly blather about the same topic for hours on end, but I was wrong: sports pundits do it as well.

Now I get the irony of what I am about to say, but I have gotten so tired of hearing about Johnny Manziel that if this were a drinking game, I'd be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning right now. The sports pundits just can't shut up about him, oblivious to the fact that they're creating the very sideshow around him that they are decrying. And it's not a five minute rant: oh no, these guys will spend the better part of an hour bitching about him or the NCAA or what not.

And what keeps coming up is the issue of paying college athletes. Let me tell you something about 18-23 year males: they are dumb, with loose ethics and even looser morals, all owing to their immaturity. Double that with college athletes. Triple it with star college athletes. These guys not only get a free education, they have access to an entire support system that exists to pamper them, something that real college students don't get. That's not stated in anger; that's a fact, especially when you have big name schools with big name programs. And when ever the athletics department says they don't get money from the school and that they're self-sustaining? Yeah, that's a bunch of bullshit. They utilize resources from the school and they do get money, it's just not in the same manner as academic departments.

So, given how college athletes are already looked after, and given how immature college men are in general, you really think it's a good idea to pay them a wage that will undoubtedly exceed anything a student makes while working towards their degree? Top tier college athletes don't need to pay back student loans. What do you think a young, immature man is going to do with access to more money than a typical student worker makes? If the goal is to get them started on being a complete jerk before the bigger bucks come in if they make the pros, well, you're on your way!