Football has no place on a college campus

Football does not belong in college. It hurts players physically, and is highly detrimental to their studies. Many college players suffer traumatic injuries that ruin their lives. Others fail to compete in professional level sports and enter the world deprived of any skills gained from college.

Despite objections from proponents of college football, it is quite obvious that most players do not learn much from their classes. The high level of stress from their commitment to the team and the hours of play and training required for such an intense sport simply do not leave much room for academics.

Tim Green, former NFL player and lawyer, said in an Intelligence Squared debate that college football players are graduating at a higher rate than other college students, but as recent studies by the University of North Carolina reveal, college players are actually graduating at a lesser rate than non-athlete male full-time students. Evidently, football takes away from students' academics.

Aside from the harm done to the players’ studies, there is the undeniable physical pain players suffer. Repeated contact injuries and concussions during games cause irreversible damage to players. An increasing number of players suffer from CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), a terrible brain disease that leads to early Alzheimer’s disease, loss of memory, and dementia.

Because CTE can only be diagnosed with a postmortem autopsy, the statistics for its occurrence are rare. But it is hard to believe events like the suicide of University of Pennsylvania football player Owen Thomas were not influenced by CTE. The 21-year old, who never showed signs of depression, hanged himself in April 2010. Brain tests showed definite signs of CTE, making him the youngest player to be diagnosed with the condition. Numerous NFL players have been diagnosed with CTE also.

Football may produce money for colleges, but it hurts athletes far too much to justify its benefits. After all, colleges are not-for-profit organizations created to educate students, not recruiting centers for the NFL that exploit students by overuse and compensation of little value.