HSMSE Lady Dragons reach PSAL Class B girls' soccer playoff finals

HSMSE girls' soccer team - Lisa Gordis

The High School for Math, Science and Engineering girls’ soccer team won 6-1 in their 2014 PSAL Class B semi-final match against Herbert H. Lehman High School on November 11, 2014.  Their victory sets up a final match against Julia Richman Educational Campus at 10AM on Sunday November 9th at Randall's Island Field 10. The game will be broadcasted live online via the NFHS Network.

The Dragons comfortable win was a result of a combination of constant hustle, an aggressive mindset, and their experience in the playoffs.

“This is the best team we've ever had at MSE,” said coach Regina Zafonte. “They know how to channel their nerves into positive energy and do amazing things. These guys are now experienced playoff players and can handle the pressure.”

Freshman midfielder Alex West was seemingly everywhere on the pitch. West controlled the midfield with her aggressiveness and superb ball handling. When given the opportunity, West took shots from outside of the box, resulting in two spectacular goals. Despite her tremendous impact on both the game and the season, West remained humble in victory.

"Being aggressive, man marking their best player, and getting the step ahead by scoring the first two goals in the start [won us the match]," said West.

Another player who embodied the team’s hustle mentality was junior forward Galit Wiener. All three of her goals in the game came after sprinting for either crosses or deflections off of Lehman’s goalkeeper.

"We all came out determined," said Wiener. "We've been to the playoffs before and have been let down. We knew it could happen again and we've come so far already, so we wanted to give it our best. Everyone played 100%."

The Lady Dragons’ back line was just as impressive as their offense. The defense didn't even give Lehman a shot on goal for the first 30 minutes of the game. In fact, the most pressure sophomore goalkeeper Annabelle Shultz faced were from five corners that were easily cleared due to the great defending. The only slip up was a late goal, but the Lady Dragons were already up 6-0 at that point.

“Our defense was impenetrable," said Zafonte. “They were first to the ball and didn't allow anybody to get by them.”

The team's push to the finals has been a result of both quality leadership and great team chemistry. If the continue to play with the same sense of urgency and aggressiveness in the final, the team could bring HSMSE its first citywide varsity championship in school history.

"We have very good chances [in the final]," said West. "We're very good together working as a team and we're good at stepping up to the challenge."

The life of an olympic athlete

Sarah Robles / Otagenki.com

Olympic athletes have a rigorous training schedule and dedicate their lives to their sport, but what is not as immediately obvious are their financial struggles. Often, Olympic athletes depend solely on the funding of their sponsors to get through their training, leaving them to find another source of income to provide for their basic needs.

“Heading into the Sochi Games, some of the USA’s elite athletes live below the poverty line,” Kelly Whiteside wrote  in a 2013 USA TODAY Sports article.

Sarah Robles, an olympic weight lifter, is one of the many Olympic athletes that struggled economically through most of her Olympic training. Her priorities shifted from funding her Olympic journey to supporting her basic needs of food and shelter. The only way she was able to continue her training was through donations made by people close to her, and her motivation for success.

Olympic athletes are faced with the problem of their life after sport. An Olympic athlete dedicates many years of his/her life to training, leaving many without a plan of what to do next. After retiring from a sport, there is a major adjustment to make from practicing everyday, to pursuing a job and not being able to play their sport as much.

“For world-class athletes who have focused their lives on training, their next Olympian task has no direct path: Readjusting to a routine outside competitive sports and creating a new life that may or may not involve the limelight,” Raissa Ioussouf wrote in a 2012 article for the Huffington Post.

Olympians have to find something else to occupy their time with after they retire, since they do not exercise as much. Before their Olympic careers end, Olympians have very busy schedules. In preparation for big competitions such as the Olympics, Olympians commit most of their day to training and leading a healthy life. Aside from just playing their sport, Olympians have a lot of other training to do such as weightlifting and conditioning to stay fit for their season.

“I usually swim, bike and run every day and do strength and conditioning work two or three days a week.” Helen Jenkins, an Olympic triathlete, said in a 2012 Sport Wale article.

Part of what makes Olympians so valuable and admirable is that they do what is hard for many people by going beyond what is thought humans can do. Although what the Olympians achieve is apparent, what is less clear, is the amount of time they spend training for their success and the difficulty it takes to get there.

Written by Asimina Hamakiotes and Harry Smith

The growing Olympics

All the host cities of the Winter Olympics / Wikimedia Commons

The modern Olympic games have grown in scale exponentially since its beginning in 1896. More countries participate now and there is a greater sense of equality in both gender and race. The games are a much more accurate measure for who is the best of the world due to these changes.

The very first winter Olympics only permitted the participation of Scandinavian countries, such as Norway and Sweden. The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games allowed 84 different countries from six continents. A growth in the number of teams in the Olympics also increases the challenge to win as there are more athletes to compete against each other.

On top of a more varied pool of countries, the athletes of each country became more and more diverse. Since the first Olympics, all races could compete, but each country was responsible for deciding on athletes represent them. Countries with a history of racism hosted or entered the Olympics since it began. The racism in competing nations brought controversy to the games. There were even talks of boycotting the 1968 Olympics in Mexico from Martin Luther King Jr.

"We're not saying ‘burn it down,'" King Jr. said in The John Carlos Story. "We're just merely saying we don't care to participate and see how you feel without us as a part of the show."

Women also became a bigger part of the games. The first time that women were allowed to compete was the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris. Only 22 out of 997 athletes were females and they participated in five different sports including tennis and golf. In contrast, 44 percent of the athletes were women in the more recent 2012 Olympics in London.

“More and more women are chairing IOC commissions, such as the Coordination Commissions for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games and the 2nd Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2016 in Lillehammer, as well as the Women and Sport Commission and Athletes’ Commission,” International Olympic Committee reported in an October 2013 fact sheet.

The growth of the Olympics also appears in the increased money surrounding the games. In 1976, the Olympics cost about $1.6 billion. Host countries now more than ever view the Olympics as an opportunity to demonstrate their wealth and success. Almost four decades later, the 2014 games cost a whopping $51 billion.

“For President Putin [staging the Games] is a chance to show off Russia as a resurgent superpower,” Rick Broadbent and Ben Hoyle wrote in a Times of London article in 2014.

Contributed by: Sean Santiago, Velid Mulic

Celebrating the Rangers' 20th Anniversary of their 1994 Stanley Cup victory

"The Wait is Over" / sportspubbooks.com

For New Yorkers, the Rangers are a big part of their sports world with a following that spans multiple generations. With the Stanley Cup playoffs still in progress, they are glad to see that the New York Rangers have made it so far. The last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup was in 1994, making this year the 20th anniversary of their title. That championship ended a 54 year championship drought.

John Kreiser’s book, "The Wait is Over," tells the tale of the Rangers team that battled all season long to ultimately win the championship in 1994. Prior to that year, the Rangers suffered a disappointing season in 1992-1993 by not making the playoffs. What made it even worse was the fact that their 1991-1992 season was successful. They placed first in the Patrick division holding 50 wins and 25 losses. It was devastating to go from a top tier team, to a team that could not even qualify to play for the Stanley Cup.

John Krieser opens with those contrasting seasons and then moves on to the rebuilding process after the 1992-1993 season. The Rangers had a lot question marks and wondered who would be their key pieces on the team. They knew that they had to qualify for the playoffs this season. These questions resulted in answers in the form of future Hall of Famers like Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, and Steve Larmer. Mike Keenan became the head coach and the team looked ready to make a playoff run.

With the team built, Kreiser shifted the focus to the regular season. With a good mix of storytelling and dialogue from the players, people can relive the entire 1993-1994 year starting from the Ranger's Mustard Cup run in London, to the dramatic weeks before the trade deadline, and the race for the President’s Trophy. Every highlight of every game is mentioned and it feels like reading the game recap on the actual National Hockey League (NHL) website; however, this may be a negative for casual fans or readers. People may be looking for the highlights of the season rather than every single game played by the Rangers.

The Stanley Cup playoffs is a better part of the book. John Kreiser gave breakdowns of the statistics of the teams that the Rangers faced. He answered questions like, “Why will this team make this series easy or hard?”, and “Which player or players should the Rangers look out for?”, while describing every game of each series in high detail similar to the regular season games. Since it was the playoffs for the championship, reading the recap of the games was not as tedious as reading the regular season games.

A positive aspect about Kreiser’s writing in this book is that he portrays the emotions of the players during and after each game. The dialogue by the former players that are incorporated into the book depicts the intensity of each game, the players' determination to win, and happiness that came with winning. It helps put life to the games and players.

"The Wait is Over" provides great insight on the minds, effort, and management of the Rangers team that won the Stanley Cup in 1993-1994. Kreiser delves deep into the regular season and some readers may probably only want the highlights of what happened during each month rather than every game. Dialogue from the players on the Rangers brings life to this work. The playoff run for the Stanley Cup is probably the best part of the book. Neil Smith believes that this work brings back old memories for fans and helps younger generations of fans envision themselves as being there to watch the game. "The Wait is Over" is a worthy pick up for anybody who is a fan of the Rangers or wants to read about a championship in New York.

Should performance enhancing drugs be legalized?

Performance Enhancing Drugs / Wordonfire.org

Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) are very prevalent in sports, but only a small majority of players are caught using them. PEDs are considered to be unsportsmanlike in their use because of the unfair advantage that they offer. In addition, there are many risks in taking them, like psychological issues and permanent nerve damage. Knowing the risks, multiple players still use these drugs to gain an upper hand.

With so many players getting caught using PEDs, some have come to the conclusion that PEDs should be allowed in professional sports. In Major League Baseball alone, 31 athletes have been caught doping and in the National Football League over 20 athletes have also been caught doping. On a global scale, the Olympics and the Tour de France potentially face a great doping problem.

“Eighty percent of the Tour de France medalists between 1996 and 2010 have been similarly tainted by doping',” according to a 2013 USADA report on Lance Armstrong.

By legalizing PEDs and allowing all players to use them, the drugs could be monitored and regulated. This would allow players to take the drugs in safer and more knowledgeable conditions, leveling the playing field for all players. By doping, players could hit harder, run and react faster, putting the game on a higher level.

Extreme records could be achieved and this is shown through top athletes who have taken PEDs, like seven consecutive winner of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong. Even though legalizing these drugs seem like it would make the game better, it wouldn't fix all of the issues that already exist. In addition, it would bring forth new problems.

If PEDs become regulated, they are still dangerous and can injure players. After seeing their heroes take drugs, it may influence children to take drugs as well. There are many side effects to taking drugs like heart and circulatory problems. Knowing these severe risks, it is hard to justify the legalization of these drugs

Allowing PEDs to be available to all athletes may not even level the playing field, since some players have a moral code against using drugs or are scared of the risks it presents. Sports are considered to be so sacred because they showcase the pinnacle of human skill. By taking drugs, it would no longer be about how far a human can push himself, but on well we can create them.

“We want humans to do superhuman things -- but only in a very human way. Yes, you can try to make steroids legal. That doesn't mean they will ever seem OK,” Michael Rosenberg wrote in a 2010 Sports Illustrated article.

Written by Justin Wu and Kofi Odame 

Technological development in sports

In sports there is always room for improvement. A lot of that improvement is from the skill of the athletes, but a major factor contributing to the advancement of sports is the advancement of technology. Although many technological developments have contributed to sports throughout the years, the two most significant were the progression of football helmets and the evolution of basketball shoes.

Throughout the history of football, there has undoubtedly been vast amounts of research and development regarding helmets. Since the 1930s when the first plastic helmet was developed, helmets have provided a physical shell to protect the player from taking the brunt of a hit. The question remains, how effective are helmets at protecting players from head injuries?

Helmets don’t soften the hit and they don’t make the wearer’s head stronger. The reason that helmets reduce the risk of injury is because they increase the amount of time that it takes for the force to transfer from one player to another. Since the impulse (or change in momentum) stays the same, the increase of time reduces the force that is transferred to the head.

In order to determine the effectiveness of modern helmets, one must understand that there are two major types of head injuries: skull fractures and concussions. As helmets have evolved, there is no doubt that they better protect against hard impacts that would cause something like a skull fracture. Brain damage, on the other hand, occurs because of rapid movements of the brain inside the head. Since helmets do not actually hold the brain in place, they are only minimally effective in protecting against brain damage.

A study was conducted by researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Spine Research Laboratory and Case Western Reserve University to compare the protection leather and plastic helmets have against concussions. The researchers tested different types of hits on the helmets and found that the modern helmets did not perform as they expected.

“To the researchers surprise, the old and new helmets performed equally in the tests,” Susan Perry said in a 2011 MinnPost article about the study. “In fact, for many of the impacts — particularly frontal hits — the leather helmets performed better.”

The researchers at CCSRL and CWRU also found that even the helmets that performed the best in the tests only reduced the risk of brain damage by 20-30%. In another study done, a researcher at Virginia Tech, Stefan Duma, found that some of the most popular helmets, including the Riddell VSR4 and the Adams A2000 Pro Elite, had marginal to no protection against concussions.

Most modern helmets do provide protection against all types of head injury, and wearing a helmet is definitely recommended when playing football. The technology is available to make helmets more effective. Combining the aspects of leather helmets that outperformed plastic helmets is just one improvement that could be made. While the development of helmets continues to make football safer, basketball shoes are the most important aspect of the safety of basketball players.

Basketball sneakers are highly coveted across the globe, sought after not only for their trendy designs, but the prevention from injury that they provide. In 1917, the first basketball shoe was made by Converse, the All-Star. The All-Star was made up of just a rubber sole and a canvas top. For the next four decades, they were the shoe of choice among basketball players everywhere.

Nike Air Jordan 1 / Kevin from Yardley, Pennsylvania

Then in the 1970s the shoes basketball players preferred started to change. This happened because shoes such as the Nike Blazer started using innovative leather materials. This made players choose the Blazers over the Converse shoes because the shoes made of leather provided more ankle support. Several years later Nike produced the Air Force one which had Nike Air technology.

Nike Air is the technology that brought a new era of shoes to basketball. Nike Air was compressed air that nike would put in the soles of their shoes. The system improved shock absorption and cushioning, and this helps take stress off muscles and tendons when running. This technology was first used in the Air Force ones in the early 1980s and then shortly after that the Air Jordan 1.

 The injury prevention that Nike Air provides is just one of the reasons why basketball sneakers are coveted around the world. The continuing development of shoes, like Nike Air, and football helmets such as the Riddell 360, are just some of the advancements in sports technology. These advancements make sports more competitive and safer for future players.

The world of sports endorsements

Athletic endorsements have an allure that other industries don’t have; fans feel connected to players and their successes through their endorsed products. This makes the field extremely lucrative, raking in millions of dollars for athletes and even more for endorsing companies.

Lebron James / Serenity Forbes / Flikr.com

Adding an athlete's name to a product instantly draws fans to buy it. Fans look up to these athletes in one way or another, so these products make them feel connected to their heroes. Consider the popularity of Lebron James’ basketball shoes; not only is he a great player on the court, but he’s also a role model to many aspiring athletes. In 2012 Lebron's shoes earned Nike $300 million which was a 50% increase from 2011.

“There’s an emotional connection that fans make when they see their sport heroes endorsing a line of shoes,” Robert Passikoff said in a 2013 Forbes article. “It’s something that they both physically and emotionally identify with. Maybe they even think in their heart of hearts that the equipment will help them play a bit better.”

Both the brand and athlete benefit from these endorsements. When professional athletes are endorsed they increase the brand equity, or how well known the brand is. Popular athletes can expand the prestige of a brand because of how idolized and highly valued they are, in return athletes get to remain in the center of attention on and off the court.

Not only can athletes increase the brand’s equity, but they also get endorsed when their public image aligns with the values of a company. When athletes mess up their public image, they often lose lucrative endorsement deals. One example is Michael Phelps losing Kellogg’s endorsement. They cut ties with him after he was caught smoking an illegal substance.

"We decided to send a strong message to Michael because he disappointed so many people, particularly the hundreds of thousands of USA Swimming member kids who look up to him as a role model and hero," the Kellogg's organization said in a 2009 NYTimes.com article.  

 Brands ride on the skill and image of popular players to make millions. It seems that this trend will continue due to the ever present reverence for athletes; however, some think with the influx of social media, athletes will become even more popular. In the future, athletic endorsements may increase dramatically because of greater fan to player connectivity.

By: Daniella Smith & Austin Carvey

Fired & Ice

Mike Woodson/ Chris J Nelson - Wikimedia

Who calls the Grim Reaper for the coaches at the end of the season? There has been six coaching changes in the NBA since the 2014 regular season has ended. They have been fired for either a poor record or the team does not like the coach.

The president of the New York Knicks, Phil Jackson, decided to fire Mike Woodson at the end the 2013 - 2014 season for their losing record. This season marked the first time that the Knicks did not make the playoffs since 2010. It was also the first time that Carmelo Anthony did not play in postseason.

“The move had been expected since Jackson's arrival, with the notion of a long and unexpected playoff run likely Woodson's only hope for being retained,” Sam Amick said in a 2014 USA TODAY article. 

Although a coach may do exceedingly well record wise, there still may be dysfunction among upper management or the other coaching staff. Coach Mark Jackson of the Golden State Warriors, was fired after the Warriors made it to the second round of the playoffs. Jackson brought the team to the playoffs the second time in a row since 1990.

“While Jackson was the Warriors' most successful coach since Don Nelson, tension between him and the front office slowly percolated over the last year,” Tyler Conway said in a 2014 Bleacher Report article.

The disunity caused the team to have a very powerful defense, but not the most coordinated offense. Management blamed Jackson for not finding a way to utilize All-Stars Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala’s skills to lead them further. They finished 51-31 in the Western Conference and yet Jackson was not able to salvage his job.

“When management and a coaching staff aren't on the same page, it's bound to end badly,” Conway said. “There is shared blame here, but it's much harder to fire an owner than a coach.”

NBA coaches were playing basketball before some of the players were even born, and yet, the players still get to call the shots. A coach can get the boot if the veteran players such as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol don’t like the style of coaching. Mike D’Antoni, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was pressured to resign after the Lakers worst season in its history ending in only 27 wins. Gasol and Bryant both openly voiced opposition to the D’Antoni system, causing tension among the team and staff.

"It's more of a finesse game,” Bryant said in a 2014 ESPN article. "It's more small ball, which, personally, I don't really care much for."

Mark Jackson (l.) / Matthew Addie - Flickr

Many general managers say that it is time to move the team in a different direction in regards to firing a coach. This is the case with the ex-coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Brown. In 2005, Brown started a five season saga with the Cavs, went to the Lakers for a year, and then back to Cleveland. The GMs have the power to treat these coaches like baseball cards. They can be used, traded or dismissed. The GMs and president will not give an actual reason to why the coach was fired.

“Although, there was some progress from our finish over the few prior seasons, we believe we need to head in a different direction,” Dan Gilbert said in a team release. “We wish Mike and his family nothing but the best.”

At the end of the 2013 regular season, 11 coaches were fired. Most of them were because of a lack of wins, but some coaches have been doing it right.

“The San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich and Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra are two of the league's three longest-tenured coaches” Amick said in a 2013 USA TODAY article.

These two veteran coaches are able to find an effective strategy utilizing their many all stars. Popovich and Spoelstra currently control two of the best teams in the NBA and they will continue to do so. They know how to run their offense and defense to the best of the abilities of their players.

With coaches getting let go left and right, there is a lot of speculation on what makes a good coach besides producing wins. This trend of a third of the leagues teams’ looking to pick up a new coach after a mediocre season will likely happen for several years to come.

By Willy Herman & Shawn Watts

Misconceptions of Tommy John Surgery

Tommy John / Roger Dewitt / Wikimedia

In the past decade there has been a recent spike in the amount of players having Tommy John surgery. Last year 19 MLB pitchers alone had this surgery. As the demand for faster pitchers increase, the amount of surgeries have increased as well. 

MLB teams expect fast hard speeds consistently from their pitchers. As the pitchers throw harder the bigger possibility of their UCL tearing. To repair this doctors remove a ligament from either a hamstring or forearm and replace the torn UCL.

The human arm is not designed to throw a ball overhead at 90 mph. This stress is equivalent to holding a 12-pound bowling ball. Even at amateur level players are expected to pitch faster and harder because thats what professional leagues expect.

“That means more young pitchers must throw more, trainer harder, and test the limits of their own health more often,” former MLB pitcher Dirk Hayhurst wrote in a 2014 SportsonEarth article.

These limits that are being pushed by these young athletes are the root causes of this surgery. Preventing this surgery could be as easy as limiting their pitching. Coaches are pushing their players to throw countless pitches for consecutive games which prevents the ligament from rest and growth. Dr James Andrews, the man who developed this surgery, is giving advice to these young athletes to help prevent injury.

“One coach will pitch a kid for five innings one night and then the next day the same kid will go throw five more innings for a different coach in a different game," Andrews said in a 2012 ESPN highschool article. “These pitchers should not be playing in more than one league at once. You have to rest to prevent these injuries.”

This surgery is thought to increase the speed of a pitcher’s throw. In reality players just return to their normal pitching speeds. This misconception has influenced parents wanting to have their kids obtain the surgery prior to any injury. There hasn’t been any evidence that this surgery increases the skill of any pitcher.

"It doesn't make someone faster or, well, anything," Cincinnati Reds surgeon Dr. Tim Kremchek said in a 2014 BleacherReport article. 

It is not certain that the surgery will be successful, in many cases players were forced to get a second surgery because they had injured themselves during the rehabilitation process. There is an 80-85% chance that the surgery will be successful, meanwhile if their ligament tears again the chances are as low as 40%.

This surgery has been very controversial over the past three decades. Many pitchers have been able to continue their careers from getting this surgery. They get it in hopes that their performance may increase on the field. Young athletes looking at this demand for the surgery on the pro level, influences them to want to get the surgery. These young athletes are trying to achieve what their role models achieve. In reality this surgery is more of a necessity than a privilege.

By Adib Islam and Nicholas Bohan

Least vs. West

“The NBA's Eastern Conference stinks,” proclaimed USA Today writer Jeff Zillgitt.

Nba Logo / Michael Tipton / Flickr.com

The achievement gap between the Eastern and Western Conference is huge. Since 2000 there has been nine years where a team from the West won the NBA championship. During the 2013-2014 season the top eight teams in the West had a combined 436 wins compared to the East whose top eight teams only had 375.

Does it even matter who the top 16 teams are in the regular season? It was obvious early in the season who would be in contention for a title in both conferences and who would not.

“Thirteen of the West's 15 teams have records good enough for one of the top eight spots in the East,” said Zillgitt.

During the regular season the Indiana Pacers, who were considered the best regular season team in the East, were winless against the Phoenix Suns who were the ninth seed in the West at the end of the season.

Some may argue that the East isn't really awful because they have the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers. The teams that were predicted to fight for the third seed were struggling during most of the year.

"The biggest problem is the Knicks, Nets and Bulls," TNT analyst and former Phoenix Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. "Those were teams who were supposed to be pretty good. In fact, I thought Miami was going to be challenged in every round of the playoffs coming in because of the Nets, Knicks, Pacers and Bulls.”

The notion that the two conferences are even has been inadvertently changed. Since the 1999-2000 season there has been only two seasons where the East had more overall top five seeded teams than the West. Throughout the NBA’s history there has been almost an even amount of seasons where one conference dominated the other. Historically it is suggested that the East will regain control over the West, but it is questionable whether or not this equilibrium will be returned in the near future.

By Yoni Pechter and Sadeon Martin

Do fans take it too far?

Dani Alves eating a banana thrown by a fan | LaRed.com

Modern sports fans are getting involved with players beyond the usual boos and jeers, some going to the point of physical abuse. Fans feel as if it is their right to do what they want at major sporting event by virtue of purchasing a ticket, and athletes feel insecure about their safety as well as their families’ well-being.

Some of the most popular cases of player harassment have been reported worldwide. In 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, skating star and Olympic medalist, had just finished a practice routine when she was struck on the knee by an assailant, bruising it. A member of the audience threw a banana at FC Barcelona soccer player Dani Alves in 2014. It seems as if there is no way to protect athletes from such scenarios, as fans are still able to harm them.

“Athletes perform in huge ballparks and arenas,” Mark Hyman said in a 1994 BaltimoreSun.com article. “They travel through airports and are as recognizable as any Hollywood movie star. Is there any way to protect them from obsessed fans determined to reach and maybe hurt them?”

One might ask, why do fans boo athletes? Although not many answers have been given to this question, some possible theories are to teach their team a lesson for playing poorly, or to show the other team how much they are hated. One fan believes that booing and harassing players is their right, since they paid to see them, and will only support athletes when they perform well.

“Why do we do it?” Hunter Davies said in a 2013 NewStatesman.com article. “It’s our right, innit? We have paid our money, we can do what we like. We want them to do good things, then we’ll cheer. We love the club dearly, always hoping for better things, so feel personally let down when they play rubbish.”

Some fans have even gone so far as to invade athletes’ social media. From personal insults to death threats, fans see no boundaries to the hateful comments and tweets.

“SANCHEZ BETTER HAVE ARMED SECURITY WEDNESDAY AT PRACTICE!!” Twitter user @BraveGrancru said to New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez in 2012. “YOU THINK IMMA SIT HERE & WATCH THIS [expletive]?? TUHHH!”

With all the threats received from fans, players cannot help but worry about their families’ security. If an athlete’s primary concern during a game is the safety of his relatives in the stands, he/she will not be able to focus on the match.

“The last thing a player wants to be concerned with while playing in a game is the safety of his family inside the stadium,” Akbar Gbajabiamila said in a 2012 NFL.com article. “As players, we are all too aware of the security threat that fans of the opposing team pose to our families.”

Policymakers are stumped as to how they can reduce the threat posed by fans, and as to what means they can use to prevent situations of fan abuse in the future. Despite increased security implementations, fans have continued to find ways to get up close and personal to players.

Written by Muhammad Abid Hasan & Ismail Elomri

Coaches and administrators opinions on football union

On January 28, 2014 the College Athletics Players Association petitioned that the players on athletic scholarships at Northwestern University are employees of the university. If the claim that the students are employees is supported, the players can unionize. This will allow the players to manipulate the hours they practice reducing the coaches control over the player's schedule.

Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald does not support the unionization of his football players. He believes that this will have a negative result on the realationship the university has developed with the players. He urges his players to vote against the union. He does not see the need for others to intervene with the relationship the players have with the university because the university will provide everything the players need.

“I just do not believe we need a third party between our players and our coaches, staff and administrators. ... Whatever they need, we will get them,” Fitzgerald said in a 2014 Huffington Post article.

Stanford football coach David Shaw also questions the need of a player union in college football.

“I think Northwestern does a phenomenal job providing for their kids, and it's weird to try to unionize but still compliment Northwestern and compliment their coaching staff on being taken care of. Those things don't seem to go hand in hand," Shaw said in a 2014 ESPN article.

The Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner Beth DeBauche participated in a conference discussing the commercialisation of college sports on Tuesday, April 15, 2014. She participated in this conference to give her input on how the NCAA business plan may change to give student athletes what they think they deserve. The student athletes believe they deserve a portion of the large revenue the NCAA receives.

"The landscape as we know it for Division I is going to certainly change in some form or fashion," DeBauche said in a 2014 Associated Press article.

DeBauche admits there must be a change in the format of the business plan in the NCAA. She sees this situation to change the business plan of the NCAA into a positive direction. Many administrative influences on the NCAA like the Big Ten do not see a need for change.

"I have a really hard time envisioning what it would be," Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a 2014 Chicago Business article.

The opinions on unionization of these two coaches and administrators are mostly negative. They believe this idea of a union will conflict with the university’s preparation of the players and it will not fit into the business plan set by the NCAA.

How will college football change if Jeffrey Kessler's antitrust lawsuit succeeds?

Northwestern’s effort to unionize college football players will cause major changes to college football should it succeed. Unionizing will result in the scholarship players becoming employees and will cause financial issues to arise for the NCAA and colleges associated with it.

Many of the changes to college football will stem from the financial issues associated with the new employee status of the players. With the hundreds of football players in the NCAA, there will be a lot of extra money being spent if they become employees; however, it is still unclear how these financial issues will impact college football for the NCAA.

If student-athletes become employees, then the schools will have to pay extra expenses for them. These schools that are going to maintain Division I football teams are going to have to pay 20% in excess of the student’s tuition because of health care, pensions, disability insurance, and unemployment insurance. This is going to lead to a decrease in the amount of money that can be spent to maintain football teams across all divisions in the NCAA.

For the student-athletes, the status change from player to employee will also have its own effects. Colleges can offer its own financial backing plan for each athlete and players can choose which plan is best for them. As a result of that, colleges that have more of a financial backbone can pay for better players than those that do not.

“If you're USC or even Rice, you could say to a recruit, 'I know you're talking to these other two schools, but if you come here we'll pay your medical insurance for five years, plus you can collectively bargain for other things you want, plus if you graduate early you'll get extra dough in a trust fund, and perhaps you can capitalize off marketing value if you become our star quarterback,'” SMU athletic director, Rick Hart, said in a 2014 CbsSports.com article.

Taxes are also another problem that has to be considered. An athlete receives a scholarship to play for a team and study at school as a student. If they are going be employees of the school, the scholarship and wages that they will receive is taxable by the IRS. It would make it increasingly difficult for college football players to pay for and attend college because of the taxes they will be responsible for on both accounts.

"The fact that the players were not considered employees in the past is essentially the reason why their scholarship or parts of it weren't taxed before,” Garret Higgins, a partner of the Exempt Organization Tax and Advisory Services group, said in an ESPN article. ”The IRS may be able to make the argument that the scholarship is really payment for services, and therefore compensation, and is now taxable to the athlete.” 

Financial issues are only part of the reason as to why the changes are coming to college football in the NCAA, but its impact is going to be felt immediately. Smaller universities may not be able to pay as much as larger ones, widening the skill difference across Division 1 athletics. Some student-athletes may find it harder to attend college because of the taxes they are required to pay.  If this lawsuit passes, the NCAA will find their profits cut by a large margin if they want to continue college athletics.

Written by Allan Lee and Sean Santiago

The activities of students versus studnet-athletes

NCAA Logo/ Wikimedia Commons

High school students look forward to college because of all the freedom and choices they get to make, yet collegiate student-athletes do not have this perk. Their commitment to the sport takes up most of their time. They have less freedom than regular students in what they do, eat and study.

College student-athletes have more benefits than regular students regarding scholarships. There are more than 150,000 student-athletes who receive $ 2.7 billion dollars in scholarships every year from NCAA member colleges. They don’t have the burden that regular students face which is to get a job and eventually pay off the debts they accumulated in college.

“The average college student graduates with $35,200 in debt. Athletic scholarships offset these cost for student athletes,” the NCAA said on their website.

The amount of free time that an average student has compared to an athlete is very drastic. A regular student can sleep in and have their first class close to 11:00 AM. They have much more opportunities and can pick almost all of their classes. They choose, when they eat, sleep and go to bed.

The average student-athlete will have to follow a much more strict and exact schedule. An athlete's life will be controlled by the demands of their coach. On an average day, they can have practice starting as early at 6:00 AM. Their whole schedule revolves around games, travel times and practice.

When college students go out at night, they may consume alcohol or drugs. Even though it’s illegal to do recreational drugs and drink if you are underage, they do it anyway. If you are a college athlete, it is a different story.

“The NCAA shares the responsibility of promoting a drug-free athletics environment with its member institutions to protect the health of student-athletes and preserve fair competition,” the NCAA said on their website.

If a student-athlete is found consuming illegal contraband, then their consequence will be very severe, and they could possibly lose their scholarship.

“Testing positive on an NCAA mandated [performance enhancing or recreational] drug test will result in a loss of 25 percent of an athlete’s total eligibility from the day the athlete tests positive, which is one whole year for most.” said Monica Worsley in a 2012 Times-Delphic article.

The meal plan of student costs a lot of money. The plan combined with the cost of housing take up a majority of their expenses. Some colleges are starting to give their athletes free meals.

“This week, the NCAA ... approved a rule to allow schools to provide all Division I student-athletes with unlimited meals and snacks,” said Stefanie Loh in a 2014 U-T San Diego Article. “Previously, schools were allowed to give athletes one snack and one training table meal per day."

Students who have have scholarships may have the cost of college reduced, but they miss out on the liberties that college has to offer. Students who are non-athletes make their own schedule, but they don't get the prestige of playing on a team.  With such a strict schedule to follow, how do student-athletes have any time to relax?

 By Willy Herman and Daniella Smith

Professors voice opinions of NCAA athletes receiving pay

The argument whether or not NCAA student-athletes should receive pay has been in discussion almost since the beginning of college sports. In recent issues involving student-athlete pay, college professors have wanted an input on this issue. A sample group of professors were selected by U.S News to voice their decision on the subject of paying student-athletes. The majority of this selected group have been more supportive than opposing on the union being paid, and viewers of these opinions were allowed ratings of the responses and more of the supporting articles received positive feedback. 

Professors that feel student athletes should receive no pay at all, say it would be far too expensive to fund all NCAA athletes. Professors argue that if NCAA athletes saw that the football team was unionizing and receiving pay, then they would too push to have more privileges that the NCAA would not be able to afford. 

“The Division I colleges could afford this expense when the median DI athletics program loses $11 million a year on an operating basis and much more when capital and indirect costs are included,” said by Andrew Zimbalist in his response article The Cost of Paying Athletes Would Be Far Too High. 

Other professors argue that because the NCAA is a big business, the athletes should be paid part of the profit because they are the reason the money is coming in. 

“Without them—on the field or on the court, performing and entertaining millions of college sports fans—the billions of dollars that collegiate athletics generates simply would not exist.” said Bobby Rush in his response article towards The Cost of Playing Athletes Would Be Far Too High. 

Rush, a democratic representative for the state of Illinois, continued to say how the merchandise that is sold on campus and a games are because of the players and who are entertaining the large audience. Without them receiving pay for their work, there is no purpose to work at all. 

From the selected group of college administrators that voiced their opinion, the group that were against unionizing were mainly college professors whereas the members that were in favor of unification were board members and work in the sports administration. This may show a biased selection group of younger administrators or those who are more close to the athletes which would probably give biased opinions against them receiving pay from the professors. 

Not until recently however, have professors openly shared their opinions on this issue. Whether or not the athletes will receive pay and be acknowledged as a union will only be determined by the legal system.

CAPA's reasons for standing up for the Northwestern players

On March 26th of 2014, Northwestern football players went before the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago, Illinois to gain employee status. They want adequate compensation for the revenue they bring to Northwestern and for the time they spend training year-round. In addition, they want the right of collective-bargaining so they will be better cared for by the NCAA and Northwestern. Kain Colter, with the College Athletes Players Association (CAPA) as acting petitioner, made a list of grievances against NCAA policies that they hope employee status can fix. They go on to compare different aspects of a Northwestern student-athlete’s life to that of an employee to further their position for unionization.

In their review of the Northwestern case, the NLRB wrote that the Northwestern players are playing for the benefit of the school, so they should be able to negotiate for pay. They make vasts amount of revenue for Northwestern from broadcasting contracts, merchandising, and licensing.

“Clearly, the Employer's players perform valuable services for their Employer. Monetarily, the Employer's football program generated revenues of approximately $235 million during the nine year period 2003 — 2012,” the National Labor Relations board's judge Peter Sung Ohr said in his analysis of the Northwestern case. 

The NLRB also wrote that player scholarships and scholarship agreements are like wages and work contracts. They argued that the Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald is like a boss, since within their scholarship agreements, he gives them demanding itineraries and punishes them if they don’t follow his schedule.

“In the instant case, the record establishes that the players who receive scholarships are under strict and exacting control by their Employer throughout the entire year. Commencing with training camp which begins approximately six weeks before the start of the academic year, the coaches exercise a great deal of control over the players,” the NLRB said.

CAPA contended that the NCAA takes poor care of their athletes, and that collective bargaining will lead to improved player care. Many players get severely injured while playing football, and the NCAA does not force schools to help them. This leaves the players with massive medical expenses, on top of their remaining school tuition.

“The NCAA recently stated in court papers that it ‘has no legal duty to protect college athletes’ from injury, and has failed to investigate and minimize concussion-related deaths,” CAPA said on their website.

“Currently, over $1.2 billion in NEW TV revenue is flooding NCAA sports yet players are too often stuck with sports-related medical expenses, can lose their scholarships if they are permanently injured, and “full” scholarships are capped by the NCAA below the cost of attendance by $3,000-$5,000 per player per year.”

The Northwestern players simply desire to be seen as employees and be properly taken care of. The outcome of this case will determine whether or not these demands are met. Without collective bargaining the players might not get the care or say they want in their college careers, and all the problems that CAPA has identified may remain in college athletics for a much longer time.

By: Austin Carvey and Kofi Odame

What if college athletes get paid?

Northwestern University/Michael Barera-Wikimedia.commons

The death of the National Collegiate Athletic Association elite student-athlete is fast approaching. The unionization movement by the football players at Northwestern University could lead to athletes receiving a salary. If student-athletes are paid, the whole economic system of the NCAA will change.

If the football players get a salary and added benefits, there will be cutbacks in the resources in colleges that are not on the top of the NCAA. Title IX will play a role in this because all students will need to receive equal benefits from the unionization.

“How will schools pay for pay and benefits to scholarship student-athletes, Title IX considerations, workers’ compensation insurance and increased taxes due to loss of tax-exempt status,” Glenn Wong, a professor at the University of Massachusetts, said in a 2014 NYTimes.com article. “For 23 schools in Division I, it will be easy.”

All other Division I schools will have trouble financing pay for their athletes. These schools will have to reduce the coaches’ and administrators’ salaries, and remove programs for other students just to pay the players.

The NCAA spends less than ten percent of its resources on both Division II and III colleges, but this will fall lower if student-athletes get paid. Even if Division II or III athletes don’t get paid, budgets could still be decreased. If Division I athletes receive a salary, then more of the NCAA’s resources must be spent to compensate for everyone’s salary.

“If that changed, our budgets would change,” Kris Diaz, the athletic director at Division III Baldwin Wallace, said in a 2014 dispatch.com article.

The best of the best athletes will receive higher salaries and more benefits, including better medical care for injuries and compensation. These added perks will only go to scholarship players not the walk-on players.

“There is no question but that the presence of a union would add tension in terms of creating an ‘us' versus ‘them' feeling between the players it would represent and those it would not," Fox News quoted Northwestern’s 21 page document in a 2014 article.

Contributed by: Nicholas Bohan and Velid Mulic

Off-season training for college athletes: a blessing or a curse?

Off-season training at Simon Fraser University / SFU Public
Affairs and Media Relations - flickr.com

An NCAA student-athlete needs time to rest and recover between seasons, as well as gain strength and endurance for the upcoming year. This is the function off-season training serves. It is a period for athletes to stay in shape and put in effort towards success and improvement in their abilities, both physically and mentally.

Although the off-season is an advantageous time for most athletes, it comes with serious drawbacks. The off-season training puts athletes at risk of injuries, both catastrophic and non-catastrophic, and there have even been reported deaths between seasons for several NCAA sports.

Off-season workouts differ among sports, but they all have one thing in common: important progress is made towards improving student-athletes’ physical condition and sport-specific skills.

“Summer participation allows a wrestler the chance to greatly accelerate the training program without the normal pressures and hassles of the winter folkstyle environment,” Southern Maryland Wrestling Club Head Coach Dr. Bruce Gabrielson said in a 1992 article on SMWC.org.

Besides increasing strength and stamina, off-season training also serves as a time to reinforce a sense of teamwork, as well as to set individual goals for oneself and learn to adapt to changes.

“The off-seasons helps you build as a team through all the time spent together and brings you closer together so that you can trust each other on the field,” William Jewell College junior football player DJ Balazs said in a 2012 article on TheHilltopMonitor.com. “Team chemistry is vital in order to perform as best as possible.”

Despite the benefits, off-season training has some serious dangers. Student-athletes increase their risk of injury, usually when they overwork themselves in an attempt to get ready for the upcoming season. The NCAA Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) has implemented multiple methods to document and limit these injuries; however, they cannot manage to record each and every one. In fact, the NCAA ISP does not include off-season injuries in their annual reports.

The NCAA Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention wrote a 2013 article about the historical difficulties in the surveillance of injuries during the off-season.

“Student-athletes are at risk of catastrophic injury during off-season training. However, little remains known about the risk of non-catastrophic injury during the off-season.”

An even bigger threat is the risk of death. The off-season is known as the "Kill Season" in the NCAA, as 19 deaths have occurred since 2000. It is important to note that these deaths were non-traumatic, which means there was no impact or injury during a game. They happened merely during workout routines. Many student-athletes even claim that their strength and conditioning coaches went beyond the allowed eight hours a week of workout time, exerting their players more than is legal or, for that matter, safe.

“The way we're training college football players in this day and age is putting them at risk," president of the College Athletics Trainers Society Scott Anderson said in a 2011 article on CBSSports.com.

The off-season can be a beneficial time for student-athletes to improve their skills and prepare for the next season, if they focus their energy effectively and do not overwork themselves. Injuries, and even deaths, are a serious and real problem, and the NCAA has not done enough to limit or prevent these from happening.

NCAA walk-on players vs. scholarship players

NCAA walk-on and scholarship players have a rigorous training schedule. They both work virtually all day and are limited in the free time that they have. Even so, there is a major discrepancy in their college careers. Walk-on players have less playing time and don’t always travel with the scholarship players. Walk-on players are players that are skilled enough to make a team without being recruited; however, in order to get the same recognition, walk-on players must work harder every chance they get.

Both walk-on and scholarship players have a very similar routine. They attend classes in the morning, practices, and team meetings. One of the differences is that the players usually don’t play together. Walk-ons in Division I rarely have a chance to travel to away games in sports such as football and basketball.

Those guys would do everything we did, then have to go home to eat instead of eating w/the team. It was a joke
— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) April 15, 2014

The NCAA has made minor changes to the rights of walk-on players. As of April 24, 2014, the Division I Board of Directors granted Division I walk-on players unlimited meals and snacks, finally allowing the walk-ons to have access to the same meals as the rest of the team.

“Today we took action to provide meals for student athletes incidental to participation,” Councilor chair Mary Mulvenna said in a 2014 NCAA.org article. “I think the end result is right where it needs to be.”

Although walk-on players have been granted more rights over time, scholarship players are still treated superiorly. Walk-on players having free meals granted to them solves a very small portion of the inequality between them and scholarship players.

Oregon Ducks Stadium / Bobak Ha'Eri

The biggest difference between the two is that scholarship players are paid to play, whereas walk-on players pay to play.

"You have to consistently stand out on film," Oregon Ducks football player Ryan DePalo explained in a 2013 AddictedToQuack.com article. “They [the coaches] have nothing invested in you, whereas they have $100,000 invested in the scholarship player. If you don't consistently stand out, you will be forgotten.”

The differences between walk-on and scholarship players are undeniable. Walk-ons have fewer rights and fewer opportunity, especially in Division I. Walk-ons have to pay their way through college, only to be overlooked. With scholarship players rallying to unionize, walk-ons are once again being left out to dry.

Written by Asimina Hamakiotes and Gregory Sakas

Aftermath of employee status

Student-athletes have little to no voice regarding their liberties in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Student-athletes have very strict hours of practice and game-related activities, and are unable to dictate what they do during this time. With the brewing Northwestern unionization case, many questions surround the future for student-athletes if they obtain the status of an employee. The Northwestern players are currently fighting for a union that would allow them to become employees in the eyes of the NCAA and have security from the strict collegiate rules.

The NCAA is liable for multiple important changes if the athletes win this case. As an employee, the players would be entitled to a salary. If players were given salaries, many schools would be losing money since only 10 percent of college sports generate revenue. The NCAA would be required to pay every player at least minimum wage regardless of the sport. Most NCAA sports barely bring in enough money to sustain themselves, sending them into further debt and possibly leading colleges to dropping sports. Although the colleges are losing a lot of money, the players are getting help since they are unable to get jobs with all the sport and educational responsibilities they have.

"All of us have bills. All of us have expenses, just like every other student,” Alabama long snapper Carson Tinker said in a 2013 Huffington Post article. “I don't live with football players. I live with two of my good friends. While I'm at practice every day, they have a job. They're able to pay their bills, buy food, stuff like that."

The major issue behind being a student-athlete is, they do not get reimbursement when they are significantly hurt. 

“Injuries sustained in college athletics that linger or develop into chronic conditions are generally not covered by a university’s or the N.C.A.A.’s medical insurance once an athlete has left college,” Bill Pennington said in a 2013 New York Times article.

Currently, student-athletes who are on scholarship are all at risk of losing their assistance after they are seriously injured.

“There is also no provision in the Division I Manual to prohibit a coach from revoking a scholarship the year after a recruit gets hurt.” Meghan Walsh said in their 2013 Atlantic article.

Players becoming employees would hurt not only many colleges, but also put the NCAA in jeopardy of collegiate sports. The players would have significant more freedoms and the NCAA would have to change their current no wage approach.

Written by Sadeon Martin and Justin Wu

Filling big shoes

Eli Manning / Marianne O'Leary - WikiCommons

Eli Manning is the franchise quarterback of the New York Giants. He has won two Super Bowls and was named finals mvp with the Giants. He has played with them since his 2004 rookie year..

Manning has faced a lot of pressure to fill the shoes of his elders, namely his father Archie Manning and older brother Peyton. While his dad never pressured any of his sons to play football, they all found their way to it one way or another.

In high school Manning attended the same school as his older brother Peyton, who was the star quarterback of the football team before Eli. There was a lot of talk if [Eli] Manning would be the same as his older brother, but he did not disappoint. He broke and set several records in the Isidore Newman High School’s history. His achievements earned him his own memorial at the school that is there to this day.

Manning has done quite a bit of charity work in his career. In 2007 Manning raised 2.5 million dollars to fund the construction of “The Eli Manning Children’s Clinics” at Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children. The clinic focuses on cancer treatment for children.

Manning had predicted his brothers success in his quote for his senior yearbook.

"Peyt - We had our fun times, and our serious times (watch out world, you ain't seen nothin' yet.)"

"That doesn't sound like Eli,” said Cooper Manning in response to the senior quote in a 2008 Daily news article. It was a change for the usually easy going Manning, but was true all the same. He went on to great success that he still sees today.

Franck 'The Great' Ribery

Franck Ribery / commons.wikimedia.org

On March 17, 2014 an article was released on Bayern Munich and the top 30 players the team has ever had. Franck Ribery came out on top of them all, but in Stefan Bienkow’s opinion, Ribery deserves a greater title than just the best player for Bayern Munich.

“Franck Ribery is one of the best players in the world at the moment,” Stefan Bienkow said in a 2014 BleachReport article.

Recognized as one of the best players in the world, he was nominated for the Ballon d’Or (World Player of the Year Award). Sadly losing to Cristiano Ronaldo, on January 13th, 2014, the argument still remains about who is the better player between the two. Officials still believe it should be Ribery.

“He showed balance, technique, confidence in either foot, losing markers with a dropped shoulder and a flick of acceleration to dribble into the box, creating chances for team-mates or finishing himself,” said Henry Winter in a 2014 Telegraph article.

As well as being famous for his playing style and his techniques on the field, Ribery is known for his features, especially the large scar running down the right side of his face. From his childhood, Ribery was involved in a major car accident when he was only two years of age. Ribery feels the scar is more than just a wound, but rather assists him when playing on the field and brought him to where he is now.

“I’m proud of my scar, It gave me strength and forged my character,” Ribery said in a Football Deluxe article by Antoine Martin.

Being such a successful, recognized player, Ribery is in his early 30s at the moment and leaving a mark on Bayern Munich's and the French National Team's history.                                                     

Jabari Parker’s questionable future

Jabari Parker/Adam Glantzman/Flickr.com

Jabari Parker was one of the most popular and talked about college basketball players this past season, but no one knows when he will enter the NBA draft. Duke was eliminated in the first round of the 2014 NCAA tournament. This gives Parker a reason to stay at Duke for another year. The question that now comes up is when will Parker enter the NBA draft. As of right now it seems that he is leaning towards staying at Duke for another season; however, Parker is not worried about the NBA.

“We honestly don’t know. After the season, we’ll talk about it,” his father Sonny Parker said in a 2014 SlamOnline interview.

Parker has the potential to be a great professional basketball player, but he needs more time to develop his raw talent into skill. The fact that Duke was eliminated so early in the tournament, as well as the fact that highest rated high school player in the country, Jhalil Okafor is coming to Duke, only adds to him wanting to play another season of college basketball.

The 2014 NBA draft is loaded with prospects including Kansas' small forward Andrew Wiggins, a player that is often considered to be the rival of Parker. In late March, Wiggins declared that he was joining this year’s NBA draft and this decision could impact whether Parker returns next season. If Parker stays another year at Duke and enters the next year's draft, he would stand out more in the draft class of 2015; however, if he enters this year he could get paid sooner and have a guaranteed contract for the 2014-2015 NBA season.

An extra year playing in college would help Parker gain more experience and to develop his skills; however, there is also a possibility of injury that could damage his career. Only time will tell where Parker will choose to take his career and the choice is entirely up to him.