It should not matter if a player for a team is the best player in the nation and wins every game they play in. It is not ethical for a college athlete to get paid for their performance. They are getting paid already by having their college paid for, classes paid for, books paid for, and many other things. .
Another allegation that was floating around was that players were receiving grades for classes that they never attended. A dozen Cowboys who played between 2000 and 2011 said that they participated in some form of academic misconduct; another sixteen players said that they had schoolwork done for them. Players were also clustered into online classes. The goal was to not educate but to get the passing grades they needed to keep playing. An example of a player receiving grades was former Cowboy, Dez Bryant. He was named second team academic All-Big 12, an honor to players who both combine athletic and scholastic achievement. A former coach stated that, it was well known that Bryant would not go to class unless shepherded, often by a football staff member, and that tutors did a majority of his coursework. .
This unethical choice made by the players and coaches reflected poorly on their sense of character. This refers back to guaranteeing equal rights and opportunities behind the veil of ignorance. Was it ethical for some players to not go to class, not do their own work, but still make good grades? The only ethical choice would have been to make him and other players attend class, just like the other students and players had to do. Students and players more than likely looked at this as a sign that they were not good enough to receive those same accommodations and it was unfair. .
Drugs were another allegation that hit hard at the Oklahoma State campus. On February 8, 2009, a player's house off campus was involved in a drug bust. A junior wide receiver at the time was in his home when the police executed a search warrant.