Pay the Little League World Series Players
At the gym last night, the only sports program on t.v. was the Little League World Series. I guess they stop showing Red Sox games when they are more than 15 games out of first.
I enjoyed watching an exciting, one-run elimination game between Philadelphia and Chicago. Philadelphia lost but has been big news because a girl named Mo’ne Davis became the first girl to pitch a shut0out in the Series. She is on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
As the cries of injustice regarding the non-payment of college athlete increases daily, I couldn’t help but think when will the players in the Little League World Series be paid? The players in the Little League World Series certainly receive much less than the scholarships college athletes receive.
Every reason that justifies the payment of college student-athletes applies to the Little League World Series players. The biggest difference is that college athletes get scholarships and the opportunity to obtain an education that will dramatically increase their earning potential over their lifetimes. Little League World Series players get nothing but the game. I don’t even think their trip to Williamsport for the World Series is complimentary.
But, just as the NCAA, colleges and television networks make millions on the backs of college athletes, the “not-for-profit” Little League Baseball Inc. ($72.9 million in assets in fiscal 2009) and Walt Disney (owner of ESPN and ABC) likewise make millions off the broadcast of the Little League World Series.
While preparing for the Little League World Series is not the 40–50 hour “work” week that college football players put in during season, the little league ballplayers are clocking twenty hours a week or so in season with practice and games. These hours increase at playoff time. Plus, kids this talented are indubitably playing indoor leagues and fall leagues making it a year-round commitment. Sound familiar. Maybe they need to unionize?
Moreover, their names and likenesses have a value on their own, similar to that awarded to college football players regarding EA Sports’ NCAA football game. A baseball signed by Mo’ne Davis sold for over $500 on Ebay. According to USA Today, Brandon Steiner, owner of Steiner Sports, a leading sports memorabilia company in New York, said he would pay Mo’ne at least $25,000 to autograph between 500 to 1,000 items and estimated she could make up to $100,000 on the deal. Instead, the ways things are now, she could sign but Steiner Sports would take all of the money.
If college student athletes are paid on top of getting most of their college paid for through scholarships, I can see no reason why the courageous players in the Little League World Series don’t deserve the same.
