http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3502211
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Wow commitment to duty is more important than football! Who'd a thunk it.
Seriously I think he should be kept in the Army until his time is up. If you are that keen on going to the NFL don't volunteer for the Army! Remember he volunteered for it.
My bad, I meant that it sucks for the Lions. What a waste of a draft pick. It may have been a 7th round pick but a pick is a pick.Quote:
Originally Posted by RickD
Oh yeah no I agree with you there. They blew it.
I agree that doing your duty and finishing your time in the Army is very important, it does kind of suck that he was going to be able to do that and play football and then they changed the policy on him. He is a stand up guy though, and I appreciate the fact that he is just going back to the Army without all the crying and fussing that he could be doing.
And sue the military....good luck with that.
Seriously he volunteered for the army and they are not under any obligation to help him get into the NFL.
Well he can't get into the NFL unless the Army lets him right now and they are under no obligation to do so.
Yep. He joined up. They gave him an education. Time to pay up his end of the bargain.
Actually, part of this is also the appearance of it. There was another kid at another service academy...I THINK it was the Naval Academy, but I could be wrong...anyway, he WASN'T being released from service, and this guy was. Also, apparently quite a few of the 'regular' troops were beginning to wonder out loud why he was getting special treatment (and rightfully so). I'm not in any way putting that on the kid, by the way, since from everything I've heard, he has no problem with doing his service. Just a snafu at the top.
yeah......snafu's happen.
It all depends when the initial policy was effective. If this was something that was put in to place many years ago or something like that then I could see how it would suck, but if it was something that was done solely for him (and I doubt that) then it would be special treatment and would most certainly be wrong.
I don't remember the exact details, but this is/was a longstanding policy (remember David Robinson). However, with all things like this when it comes to the military, the needs of the service come first. There's nothing in the policy guaranteeing that it'll continue, or even that it'll be effected on an individual basis. The needs of the service always take priority.
As it should.
If you were him, I'd recommend you read the enlistment contract you signed when you joined the Army before bothering to do that (and check Title 10 of the US Code as well). You'd find that they have the power to change almost anything about almost everything. For examples, see Individual Augmentee Policy, Stop-Loss Policy, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by howardryan6
If you join the military, you accept that they basically own you for quite a while.
I just think that the timing of all this was bad. If they (the Army) were going to change their policies, they should of done it after the season was over. They should of saw that Campbell had a chance to become a NFL player with the policy. If they didn't like it, they could have changed it before the draft. Now instead, Campbell had just agreed to a contract, got his equipment and just as he was about to go to his first day of training camp, he gets news that he has to go back to West Point. Sure the Army could do anything they want, but the timing of this was bad.
On a side note, does the Grandfather Cause have any effect on this outcome?
A somewhat similar situation is going on with the Cleveland Indians' Shin-Soo Choo.
http://blog.cleveland.com/sports/200...ary_servi.html
Korea has mandatory military service for all males and it looks like Choo will have a sticky situation on his hands over the next few years.
Agreed, this was not handled well by the brass at all. But, like I've already said...he signed on.
David Robinson was allowed by the Navy to go pro, but, to use another big name athlete, Roger Staubach had to do his service first. It's a rule that's seemed to constantly change over the years. I guess, basically, if you're an aspiring athlete, make **** sure you know what you're getting in to!
The whole issue of mandatory service is, of course, a different one. It tends to pop up most frequently with hockey players, many of whom come from European countries that have the same requirements. Sometimes, they're given a waiver, sometimes they're not.