1. College athletes get free stuff.
Although college athletes get many things for free, the amount of money that the free equipment is worth pales in comparison to what they spend for their sport. From cleats to the gas money they spent from all the years of traveling to practice, and not to mention the cost for just joining a team, student athletes spend hundreds of dollars before even knowing if they will play a college sport.
2. Athletes are dumb.
This is a common misconception about athletes. Last year however, Le Moyne athletics had an average of around a 3.4 GPA. While this may not be the sought-after 4.0, it is all the more impressive for the amount of travel the athletes have during their seasons.
3. Being an athlete is just partying and having fun.
Also very, very false. Most people do not see the 6 a.m. 4-mile runs or the fitness testing that goes on. Nor do most people see or understand how it feels to play soccer on a turf field that is 100 degrees. Partying only happens after a win, and that win is only the result of previous hard work that has been put in during training.
4. Athletes think they are better than everyone else.
Many athletes respect and admire the work other students do and are quite humble even when it comes to their own sport. Movies and TV shows have depicted the student-athlete as a hormone-filled narcissist, while most times this is not the case.
5. Athletes hook up with a lot of people.
While this stereotype may have its truth in some aspects, many of the student athletes at Le Moyne are in committed relationships with a significant other. Being an athlete does not guarantee that you will be hooking up with a lot of people either. TV shows such as "Blue Mountain State" have idolized the star athletes as being “sex machines” having the ability to seduce a woman or 10 every single day. It is quite the unrealistic expectation.
6. Student athletes get away with skipping class.
Yes indeed, student athletes do miss class, but only for games or travel days to get to a game. If we are caught skipping class by our coaches we have quite the punishment. Usually the punishment includes running ... lots of running. Not to mention your teammates won’t be happy when they have to run for your laziness. So yes, it may appear that student athletes get many advantages and perks, however, they are also now held to a higher standard. If they fail to comply with those standards then most times they are not allowed to participate in the sport that they love.
