Posted on 06/27/2019 2:45:35 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
President Trump on Wednesday told Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper to come up with a policy that would allow athletes enrolled in military academies to play professional sports upon graduation.
The policy would be a rollback from what the Trump administration enacted in 2017, according to The Hill.
“Highly talented cadets and midshipmen who receive the extraordinary benefits of an education from an Academy or through a ROTC program at taxpayer expense should be able to both take advantage of the short window of time during which playing professional sports is realistically possible, while also honoring the commitment they have made to our Armed Forces and our country,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. Trump signed a presidential memo to give Esper 120 days to come up with the policy.
“This will involve consulting with the civilian and uniformed leadership of the Military Departments,” a separate White House statement added....
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
No.
I’m not sure how I feel about this... these aren’t your average Joe Footballer that comes through the system... they are highly educated and intelligent individuals. Part of me says, give them their opportunities while their bodies are able to perform at a high-level.
But at the same time, how do they reimburse the military for their education?
Could it be a monetary reimbursement once a pro contract is signed? Maybe reserved duty status? I’d want them to continue military training, so maybe off-season they are the property of the government?
They’ll just end up as recruiters. A pro career would be a positive thing.
Although very few Service Academy athletes have the size and speed to go pro.
If they serve on active duty in the off-season, I’d be O.K. with it. They’d also have to finish up their active duty commitment when their professional career is over.
there should also be conditions such as being on the active roster of an NFL or NBA team, or in Baseball’s Major League within 3 years.
Very few pro level athletes go to the academies
“Very few pro level athletes go to the academies”
that’s because they can not turn pro upon graduation ... the new policy would change all of that very quickly ...
While a policy-in-place may increase the potential, the number of genuine candidates from the Academies will remain few. Most of the likely pros will eschew that route due to the intense academics and military training required of these cadets & midshipmen. The most notable & successful recent pro from these ranks was probably David Robinson USNA 1987, and he had to serve 2 years of active duty before going on to star with the San Antonio Spurs, 1989-2003.
Thus, given the minimal group that this would address, I’d say let it be codified so that all parties know the regulations.
This is a very bad idea.
How many stars on Alabama or Miami, etc, do you think could last one semester of academics at any of the academies?
I’m ok with this as long as they serve their time during or after their pro career and the standards for admission don’t drop.
“How many stars on Alabama or Miami, etc, do you think could last one semester of academics at any of the academies? “
not many ... but that means the service academies could end up with a bunch of SMART athletes ...
Can you imagine one or two of these guys on a team when someone else wants to take the knee?
I would like to be there when that is discussed among the team members.
NO!
NO!
NO!
“… they are highly educated and intelligent individuals.”
As in normal education facilities, some are and some aren’t. The quality of the education is the same as any university in the nation that has sports programs. The only difference is that there are follow on rules that you were aware of in contract prior to using the facilities.
In the army, in the first year after graduation, the cadet will attend a Basic Officer Leader Course for general information and training. Upon its successful completion, they then take branch-specific courses to become competent in the technical aspects of their specialty. Next, they’ll be sent to an Army unit where they will build experience in troop command for the next three years.
This is all part of the contract signed to get that education at a military academy. It commits the government to pay for the education, training, travel, and advanced education. And at the end of five years, you can transition to the civilian world like other military people do with a degree at a major and respected university.
But Trump allowing someone to buy their way out of an existing contract is wrong. That’s no different than Sanders forgiving debts for college loans. You sign the contract, you pay the bill. Otherwise it was welfare that was used to get a training so you could forget your commitment.
Oh, there is no “off season” in the military. If they are allowed to use their civilian job to over rule their military commitment, they would lose their worldwide status and could not be considered to do the obligation they used to get that education. There’s enough of that being done now in some of the professional fields in the military.
rwood
Hogwash!
Trump, you are wrong!
Roger Staubach did quite well in the NFL AFTER serving his 4 years Active Duty in the Navy.
Military academies are for turning out officers not pro sports players. Every pro sports player takes a spot an officer could have held.
No.
The service academies exist to graduate turn out military officers,
not NFL players.
Gosh - pretty quick decision w/o having any of the terms available yet...
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