Andre Carter II

I respect his quoted comments: "It was a two-part decision. I knew that this place, just being here, is an honor. Serving my country is an honor, and I look forward to serving my country for a long time. But I also knew that you could go to the NFL from here."

I'd be curious to hear from those who have attended SA and served on how they feel about it.
 
Sealion II said:
I respect his quoted comments: "It was a two-part decision. I knew that this place, just being here, is an honor. Serving my country is an honor, and I look forward to serving my country for a long time. But I also knew that you could go to the NFL from here."

I'd be curious to hear from those who have attended SA and served on how they feel about it.
Click to expand...
I'll be first.

For many years (think decades) I had a REAL sore spot with this. The purpose of the academies is to produce quality career officers. Okay, we all know that most graduates do not complete a full career, but they do serve honorably.

However it really upset me when I saw fully qualified officers being let go to try for the pros, and "serve their time" in the reserves. I contacted a couple of those units and they said they were told "he's assigned here...on paper..." and they rarely if ever saw the athlete.

Over the years, it "appears" that this has changed and they do try to utilize the athlete in a useful way. If they can do that and IF they get a full-service commitment then I suppose it's the way of the future. I've seen how hard some of these athletes work, both on the field, and in the academy, and it's impressive.

So...if done well, I suppose it's okay.
 
I believe the current policy is they still have an active duty obligation but it’s deferred to the end of their pro career. I remember hearing something like 1 year without a contract. Some have tried pro- and not just football- and have gone on active duty when it didn’t work out.
 
This is an interesting item: "Department of Defense instituted a new policy that allows any service academy athlete to request a deferment of their required military service until the end of their professional playing days."
I have trouble seeing a 30 year old millionaire come into the Army as a Lt. Does the DoD really expect following through on this?
Personally, I don't care for the policy. Athletes should serve their commitment like everyone else, which they knew of when they committed to attend. Plus, this isn't offered to non-athletes. I know it'd be rare but the academy could have someone who is a great singer, gets noticed, offered a recording contract and opportunity for a worldwide tour. Or maybe a cadet develops a patent and wants to create a start up for it to get it off the ground.
 
I've been pleased to see athletes permitted to pursue professional and/or Olympic opportunities and defer service. The academies are at a great recruitment disadvantage if athletes aren't able to defer service to give it a shot in the pros. And, high profile athletes who attended SA's are also a great PR tool with children aspiring to follow in their footsteps.
 
unkown1961 said:
This is an interesting item: "Department of Defense instituted a new policy that allows any service academy athlete to request a deferment of their required military service until the end of their professional playing days."
I have trouble seeing a 30 year old millionaire come into the Army as a Lt. Does the DoD really expect following through on this?
Personally, I don't care for the policy. Athletes should serve their commitment like everyone else, which they knew of when they committed to attend. Plus, this isn't offered to non-athletes. I know it'd be rare but the academy could have someone who is a great singer, gets noticed, offered a recording contract and opportunity for a worldwide tour. Or maybe a cadet develops a patent and wants to create a start up for it to get it off the ground.
Click to expand...
There’s a big difference between a singing career which can last quite long and a professional athlete career. The median age of NFL football players is 26 years. Many don’t make it that long. And yes, those who don’t immediately serve their time. I’ve known 2LTs older than 30.
Is it right? I’m not convinced one way or another. But many of those criticizing the policy are giving out false information.
 
Not sure what the rule is but thoughts:

He goes pro and pays back the tuition cost. Win win except the person that lost out for that spot.

Standards lowered for recruited athletes so glad to see him do something else rather than be a poor future leader.

Standards lowered for recruited athletes but turns out they make great future leaders (even with a ten year gap) so why standards higher for others getting in and not being able to leave early?

Sorry, you knew the deal when you signed. No backsies.
 
Again, those going pro are expected to pay back their time by becoming going active duty when their pro careers are done. If this is not done I agree, they should pay back what they owe.
A few clarifications.
First, the vast majority of these officers/pros have very short careers. We are talking a year or two, then they go in the military. D1 to pro, not just football but any sport, is a huge jump.
Second, it’s not just athletes who have their time in service put on hold. Many Cadets and Midshipmen get to go to grad school after graduation and before serving. Some well known cases are Rhodes scholars, but there are many more. Sometimes these schools have something to do with their branch, but very often it doesn’t.
Third, there has always been a tie between athletes and the military going way back. The World Class Athlete program has been around in some shape for over a hundred years. Patton was an Olympian and competed in Sweden. Eisenhower “served” as a college football coach for several years. Arthur Ashe “served” as a tennis coach at USMA and was a lieutenant when he won his first US Open. I knew a pilot who served his first four years as a “medic” playing on the US military European hockey team. That was his job- playing ice hockey. When his hockey career was over and he actually had to go be a medic he applied for WO flight school and was accepted.
And close to home, after VE-day my father was getting ready to ship to the Pacific. The bombs were dropped as his unit was loading in a French port. He then spent the rest of his time in the Army playing football for his division team in Europe. That was his full time job as an “artilleryman”.
So it’s not exactly unprecedented to have “soldier athletes” who are ambassadors for the military. The pro option is a little different, but that is where most of the media is focused today.
 
Last edited:
UHBlackhawk said:
And close to home, after VE-day my father was getting ready to ship to the Pacific. The bombs were dropped as his unit was loading in a French port. He then spent the rest of his time in the Army playing football for his division team in Europe. That was his full time job as an “artilleryman”.
So it’s not exactly unprecedented to have “soldier athletes” who are ambassadors for the military.
Click to expand...
Did he see the original M*A*S*H? That was one of the best movie football games ever.
 
cb7893 said:
Did he see the original M*A*S*H? That was one of the best movie football games ever.
Click to expand...
That probably would have been a good movie to see with him. But he didn’t really talk about the war except playing football and other funny stories, and he rarely watched war movies.
 
Last edited:
It is actually possible to delay your service and play professional sports. Zac MgGraw was class of 2019 and he plays for my home soccer team, the Portland Timbers. This year he became the first service academy graduate to ever score a goal in MLS. He has a deal with the Army to serve his 5 years after his contract expires.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top