<p>Athletes, cumulatively, may not be looked down on much; however, any negative thoughts towards athletes are definitely directed at, and in many way perpetuated by, the football team. </p>
<p>Also, quoting average GPA of the football team vs. avg. GPA of the overall school is a poor statistic. It’s easy to get good grades if you take easy classes (the “joke” flavor of each core class, the bottom of the bottom major classes, etc.) so there’s some selection bias. </p>
<p>There are many football players that I find incredibly genuine and kind people. There are also many that I find unintellectual and overly obnoxious. Unfortunately, because of their size and how audible they are, the negative, more intrusive and disruptive players tend to stand out more. Also, an obnoxious 6’5" 300lb guy is more conspicuous than an obnoxious ‘regular student’… there are obnoxious kids throughout the student body (and throughout all student bodies), but some are more visible.</p>