Two years after he rescinded a policy that allowed service-academy athletes to defer their active duty and join a professional team immediately upon graduation, President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued a presidential memorandum that will essentially reinstate the protocol he once adamantly opposed.
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“… These student-athletes should be able to defer their military service obligations until they have completed their professional sports careers,” Trump wrote in the memo. “Such cadets and midshipmen have a short window of time to take advantage of their athletic talents during which playing professional sports is realistically possible.
“At the same time, these student-athletes should honor the commitment they made to serve in the Armed Forces in exchange for the extraordinary benefits afforded to them at taxpayer expense at the Academies or ROTC programs. A revised policy will benefit the student-athletes, the Academies and ROTC programs, and the Armed Forces.”
Trump ordered the Pentagon to submit the revised sports policy within 120 days, setting in motion another flip-flop in rules for the athletes, their academies and the armed forces. This policy change will be the third in four years, but many directly affected by the swaps couldn’t be happier.
“It’s the biggest slam-dunk and no-brainer ever for our country,” Air Force Academy football coach Troy Calhoun said. “It makes our country stronger. We’re going to be better, and not that our officer corps is not really, really good — it’s fantastic. But now you open up avenues in terms of being able to attract very, very talented leaders where they know there are unlimited opportunities no matter what you do.”
On one hand, Trump’s memo is a promise kept after he told Army’s football team in May during the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy presentation at the White House that he would look at re-implementing the 2016 policy to allow athletes to pursue a pro career.
That short-lived policy enacted by the Obama administration offered graduates a chance to fulfill their service obligation in the Ready Reserve in order to pursue a pro sports career immediately. That policy did not guarantee acceptance of Ready Reserve — each case was reviewed individually — but it opened a window that had long been sealed shut for service-academy athletes who were once required to serve the full five years in active duty. Most have recently been required to serve a minimum two years with an early release.
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On the other hand, the memo is a 180-degree shift from Trump’s stance just two years ago, when his administration not only eradicated the 2016 policy but dug in its heels months later when John McCain, then Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced a bill proposing a similar policy as part of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.
The bill would have allowed graduates to complete their service commitment in Selected Reserve in order to join a professional sports team. As was the case with the 2016 policy, the athletes would still serve their commitment, but in a different capacity.
But in response, the Trump administration said it “strongly objects” to such a provision and that “the military service academies exist to develop future officers who enhance the readiness and lethality of the military services.”
The multiple policy shifts have elicited varied reactions, but many current and former service-academy athletes — even those who weren’t afforded the option of deferring active duty — have lauded Trump’s newest directive.
“I love it,” said Air Force Academy graduate and current San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Ben Garland. “I think it’s a huge opportunity for those kids and even more so, I think it’s going to really benefit the Academy and vicariously really benefit the military. A lot of the things that make you a good football player also make you a really good officer. The ability to make decisions under pressure. I think with this new policy it’s going to allow our academies to get better recruits, and honestly, not all of them are going to make it. But those better recruits are going to become better officers.”
Former Air Force receiver Jalen Rowell (formerly Robinette), whose dream of being drafted into the NFL was quashed by the 2017 policy change, concurred.
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“Honestly, if the policy does change back I think that’s a wonderful thing for athletes who want to pursue that venture, but also for the academies recruiting them too,” he said. “I think it’s a good selling point for recruiting.
“At the same time, I think people have a misconception; these guys get an opportunity to go pro and serve at the same time. It’s not something where you’re getting out of your service. You’re still getting your time in and you’re still being trained to be an officer in the Air Force.”
Those who have pushed back on letting service-academy athletes go pro immediately have argued that the taxpayer-funded tuition for cadets and midshipmen — projected in 2015 to cost between $423,000 and $543,000 per graduate — is for the purpose of creating active duty officers.
The academies “exist to instill young men and women with a mind-set of selfless service to the country. There is no other justification for the significant public expense that supports them,” Tom Slear, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, wrote in an editorial for The Washington Post in 2016. “Professional football, on the other hand, is about service to oneself. It has its place, but not for academy graduates who haven’t fulfilled their obligations to their fellow citizens. Each time one of them leaves early, the ethos diminishes a bit, and the taxpayers are cheated.”
But as the debate continues and administrations vacillate between policies, those trying to keep their military and sports dreams alive simultaneously are forced to play a guessing game: Will this policy last?
The number of athletes to enjoy lasting professional sports careers after serving in the military is small, a fact that could be spun in favor of either side of the argument.
Former Navy quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Roger Staubach served a year in Vietnam as part of his active duty before becoming a Hall of Famer for the Dallas Cowboys. Former Navy center David Robinson was a civil engineer at the submarine base of Kings Bay, Ga., before he ever put on a San Antonio Spurs jersey. And Chad Hennings, a former Outland Trophy winner at Air Force, had 45 successful A-10 combat missions as a fighter pilot before winning three Super Bowls with the Cowboys.
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More recent ones include Alejandro Villaneuva, the Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowl tackle who did three tours in Afghanistan with the Army; and Garland, who was stationed for two years at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois while the Denver Broncos retained his rights. Garland still balances both his military obligations and football career, as a captain with the Colorado Air National Guard and lineman for the 49ers.
In various interviews, all have said they valued their active duty, some even more than their athletic careers. And all committed to their respective academies knowing they were required to serve after graduation; the option to defer active duty wasn’t available.
“I definitely would have wanted it, but it’s hard to say in hindsight,” Garland said. “I could have come straight out and flopped and been a one-and-done kind of guy. Or I could have had an even more successful career. I definitely would have wanted that opportunity and would have done my best to make the most of it for both myself and the military. But it wasn’t an option and I knew it coming in. I made the commitment when I joined and I knew I had that minimum two years. So for me, it wasn’t something I was too mad about.”
The 2016 policy lasted less than a year, long enough to allow former Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds and Air Force tight end Garrett Griffin (among others) to go pro immediately, and for those next in line to prepare for a dual career.
Rowell was one of them.
Like those before him, he committed to the Air Force Academy before the chance to defer active duty ever became a possibility. But when the door opened, he juggled both his coursework and cadet training, with his preparation for the NFL draft and a future in the military. As the Falcons’ all-time receiving leader, Rowell was projected by many analysts to be selected on Day 3 of the 2017 NFL draft, in the mid-to-late rounds.
But on Day 1, the Air Force informed the Academy that its graduating athletes would not be allowed to defer their active duty and join a pro team. Days later, Jim Mattis, at the time the Secretary of Defense, signed an order that rescinded the sports policy and implemented the old one that required all service-academy athletes to fulfill their active duty before embarking on professional sports careers.
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Rowell, as a result, went undrafted and was not signed to a roster as a college free agent.
The short window Trump mentioned in his memo becomes shorter every day for Rowell.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about every day, honestly,” he said. “Every time I get up and every time I work, just because of the way things work at (the NFL) level. When you’re away from the game for that long or even if you miss a week, it’s hard to not think about stuff like that. But at the same time, you have to give your all every time you train, every time you do anything football-related, even with what I eat. At this point everything I do counts toward that point where I am able to play football.”
Although Rowell’s story was complicated further with an investigation into his qualifications to graduate and commission (he was cleared), he served his two years at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas as a logistics officer and is still vying for a shot in the NFL — or any professional league. He most recently was invited to the XFL Showcase in Dallas, but his tryout didn’t result in a contract.
“At this point, my intent is just to play ball,” he said. “Whoever comes to my door and gives me the opportunity to do it, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Trump’s memo indicates a return to the 2016 policy with an option for athletes to defer their active duty. But until it’s formed, important specifics remain unanswered. Most notably: Will the policy affect 2019 graduates, or will it begin with the class of 2020?
The answer may determine the future of Nic Ready, an Air Force baseball player who was drafted in the 23rd round by the Miami Marlins. It could affect former Navy pitcher Noah Song, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Boston Red Sox.
It could also have implications for Austin Cutting, the former Air Force long snapper who was drafted in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings this year.
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When the 2016 policy was announced in May of that year by Ash Carter, it went into effect immediately. It’s presumed Trump’s policy will be applied similarly to 2019 graduates. The (Annapolis, Md.) Capital Gazette reported that Song is scheduled to report to Pensacola on Nov. 1, but when the new order is implemented, he will be allowed to play baseball full-time. And Calhoun believes that “absolutely” Cutting will be allowed to play for the Vikings.
The Vikings are hopeful, but they have yet to receive any definitive confirmation.
“We’ve had consistent communication with the Air Force regarding Austin and hope to have his status for the upcoming season determined soon,” Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement.
Spokespersons for the Navy and Air Forced athletic departments said they have received no more information about the impending policy beyond what Trump issued in his memo.
But when it does take effect, the general expectation within the academies is that of greater opportunities — not just for the athletes, but the military as a whole. Recruiting is one area.
Enticing top athletic recruits to embrace the regimen of the academies, as well as their required service post-graduation, can be a tall task. The delay in their start to playing professionally can risk their sports careers altogether, prompting them to seek other options.
“Absolutely it would enhance recruiting across the board, particularly in those sports in which legitimate professional opportunities exist,” Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk told The Gazette. “We’re not going to start recruiting to it just yet. We need to wait until the proposed policy change is actually implemented.”
Adding the option to defer active duty certainly won’t open the gates for the nation’s top high school players to commit to the service academies. But it might create a larger pool of interested prospects and in turn, boost the level of competition.
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Calhoun believes the policy will do more to create diversity and more first-generation officers.
“You’re just going to enhance the depth and quality of our future officers,” he said. “… We did what was right and ultimately because of it, we’re going to have better second lieutenants in five years.”
That is, so long as this policy remains in place for more than two years.
Former Army linebacker Caleb Campbell faced a similar situation to Rowell but made it so far as to get drafted and nearly signed his rookie contract. Campbell was taken in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions in 2008 and, thanks to the Army’s Alternative Services Option program, was initially granted permission to play immediately while working part-time as a recruiter to fulfill his service obligation. As Campbell recalled, the day he was set to sign his contract and begin training camp, he was told that the Army’s policy had been rescinded and he had to report for active duty.
Campbell served two years and returned to the Lions.
When the Trump administration made its first change in 2017, Campbell said he understood the motive, but questioned the future.
“It’s a new chain of new command. New people, new positions, new perspectives. I get it. It’s the decision they want to make,” he said at the time before foreshadowing the inevitable. “I just hope that they don’t rescind this policy and change it in another two years.”
Should there be a new administration in 2021, the possibility of another flip-flop could become real. But Calhoun is banking on “common sense” preventing yet another change.
“It’d be idiotic if we did,” he said.
(Photo of Army’s Jordan Asberry making a diving catch at the goal line while defended by Air Force’s Jeremy Fejedelem: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)