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Pete ThamelGAME
An unexpected potential barrier has emerged that could prevent it Army road star Andre Carter II and other talented athletes at academies serve from playing professional sports right outside of school.
Military Times reported On December 8, a potential change in policy for athletes at academies emerged as part of a bill passed by Congress. As of 2019, athletes at military academies have been able to apply for an exemption from the requirement to perform active duty and immediately pursue professional sports opportunities.
That rule, passed by former President Donald Trump in 2019, looks set to be revoked. Included in Section 553 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the Senate on Thursday and is being delivered to President Joe Biden’s desk, is language stating “a cadet or intermediate practitioner’s agreement to to play professional sport constitutes a breach of duty of service.” The bill covers the Army, Navy, and Air Force and states: “A cadet may not work, even as a professional athlete, until after completing his cadets’ service duty. .” According to the Army, that service is five years in the army and three years in the personal reserve.
The change is expected to take place when the bill is signed, possibly as early as next week.
The amendment was introduced by Mike Gallagher, a Republican congressman from Wisconsin’s eighth district. Late Friday, just over a week after the Military Times report was published, a spokesperson for Gallagher issued an update in which Gallagher acknowledged that current athletes at the schools conservatories “registered with the knowledge that they could apply for an exemption from military service.”
“I will work with my colleagues to identify a legislative solution that addresses this issue by including existing athletes in the current system,” Gallagher said in a statement to ESPN. “
Gallagher added that he still believes in his stance overall: “U.S. military service academies exist to train warriors, not professional athletes.”
Entering this season, Carter’s NFL draft potential is one of the exciting stories in college football. The Black Knight star is 22nd ranked player Mel Kiper for the upcoming draft, an amazing development for a school that hasn’t had its first selection since 1947 and only had two players selected since 1969.
Carter chose to stay in the Army for the last two seasons out of loyalty, despite being a player whose talent could make a fortune in the name, image, and portrait market. He’s 6 feet 7, weighs 260 pounds and is talented enough to play at any blue blood school. His family say a transfer has never been a matter of serious consideration, even after Carter leads the country in 2021 at a rate of 1.19 per game. (He finished first Will Anderson Jr.the trailblazer outside of Alabama is the only OLB to rank ahead of him in Kiper’s draft rankings.)
After two years at the academy, all students entering their junior year “claim” to the school, an agreement to both serve after graduation and return all tuition costs if they don’t do well. Karma. If Carter retracts his assertion, it means that the two will not be able to graduate after nearly four years of such serious work and have to pay an expensive bill.
Last Thursday, as Carter’s parents were traveling from their Houston-area home to the Army vs Navy game, they learned about the potential change on Twitter. They were blindfolded when they read the Military Times report on the content of the bill. Their son’s plans to enlist, play professional football and then serve in the army are likely to be cancelled.
“This is very painful,” Melissa Carter told ESPN, before Gallagher released her statement suggesting he would seek a legacy exception that would apply to Carter and other current athletes at service academies. “You guide your son to do the right thing because it’s right. And it’s disappointing that it doesn’t reciprocate. This has been his goal since childhood, to be in the NFL. Every step of the way. All in the right direction, until we saw this article. That’s the disappointing part. It’s not surprising to see so many people switching jobs, turning down or switching teams. When loyalty is unrequited. , that’s painful.”
Army coach Jeff Monken didn’t spot the potential rule change until after Saturday’s Army-Navy game.
“It was just a kind of pulling the rug away from him,” Monken told ESPN. “It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to him. He was loyal to this team and this organization. He could have left but he didn’t. He still wants to serve. Not him. He doesn’t want to serve. He wants to serve to pursue the NFL and play, then serve.
“I’m 100 percent against it.”
Melissa Carter said she “understands” that her son will have to do two years of military service if the bill is passed as written. (Military officials explain that after two years of active service, a graduate can apply for an alternative service option.) Melissa Carter said passing the bill — depending on form in the end – could force her son to choose between two goals: graduating from the United States Military Academy or playing professional football. The family has no grudge against Army or the trainers but is against the political whims that have clearly sent their son down a crossroads.
If Carter comes in at 22nd, he gets a contract worth about $15 million. Although he was predicted in the first round in some mock drafts, some scouts believe he will be picked in the second round more. Regardless of the potential payout, the family says it’s unfair that the rules suddenly change days before their son plays his final game of the season. If the rules are different, his path may be different. The Carters frequently asked about the rules for the last two years of their son’s life.
In his comments to the committee’s debate, Gallagher, a former U.S. Marine, explained it this way: “When a transit cadet or cadet decides to forgo his military service. themselves to pursue a career as a professional athlete, which means that they have eliminated an opportunity from an individual committed to their service duty immediately after graduation.
“My amendment would prohibit that. It would require them to fulfill their obligations before becoming professional for any sport. We’re talking about an average acceptance rate of about 10%. at these conscription academies. So that means there are thousands of patriotic Americans who didn’t get the chance to attend the conscription academies.”
Former army secretary Ryan McCarthy, who initiated the policy of allowing the delay back in 2019, said he was unsure of the mechanics of how this part was included in the existing bill that was passed.
McCarthy didn’t spot the potential change until he attended the Army vs Navy game on Saturday.
McCarthy said he’s frustrated because there’s evidence that the delay works and because NFL executives have finally felt comfortable recruiting players from academies. McCarthy highlighted the decades-long philosophical debate within the military over whether to allow athletes to postpone competition. He said it spread through famous Navy graduates like David Robinson in the NBA and Napoleon McCallum in the NFL.
“You can argue the merits of philosophy,” McCarthy told ESPN. “It’s the kind of thing that we have precedent for more than three years. There are five former Army players who have been deferred. Four have joined the NFL and one has been cut (First Lieutenant Connor Slomka), who currently in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Currently, the policy is working.
“Obviously these young men have entered this season on the assumption that they will have the opportunity, if possible, to play for the NFL. Because of this change, I think only the men come to the Army. team since the new policy was started in 2019 should be included in the existing policy.”
There are now four military graduates in the NFL — Cole Christiansen (Manager), Brett Toth (Eagle), Elijah Riley (Blacksmith) and Jon Rhattigan (Osprey). West Point is an important part of the story they tell. Monken doesn’t understand why Army graduates who train for the Olympics through the World Class Athletes program are honored and those who choose to defer their professional football service are blocked.
“We are very proud of these guys and the way they represent West Point,” said Monken.
Andre Carter II declined to speak to ESPN about this story. But his family made his feelings clear.
“He was very upset,” his father, Andre, said. “He’s really upset visually because of the uncertainty. He’s not happy. When you’re in the military everything is correct. There’s something about the eleventh hour that’s like being thrown out. get out of there when you’re used to having a regiment; he’s in the dark about the whole thing.”
ESPN’s Tisha Thompson contributed to this report.
