Army QB gets another shot at the NFL

I recall another situation fairly recently where a USMA baseball player wanted to be let out of his commitment because he was drafted by a MLB team, fortunately the request was denied. DOD can make all the excuses they want about "PR and recruiting value" of service academy graduates who are let out of commitments to play professional sports but the bottom line is that the taxpayers arent spending $400K to train pro athletes and a deal is a deal, do your commitment then pursue sports.
 
And now he’s been cut. No surprise there. I guess he’s free to do whatever the heck he feels like doing now, unlike his classmates.
 
He was sure hated as a cadet. What a jerk. Best line after the 2012 loss to Navy was when I overheard a cadet say, "The ONLY good thing about Navy beating us again is that Trent doesn't get credit for ending The Streak." I would say the Army kicked him out before someone in his platoon shot him in the back, which is pretty hard to do since I think he got a job as a motor pool officer in the Army.
 
bpu said:
He was sure hated as a cadet. What a jerk. Best line after the 2012 loss to Navy was when I overheard a cadet say, "The ONLY good thing about Navy beating us again is that Trent doesn't get credit for ending The Streak." I would say the Army kicked him out before someone in his platoon shot him in the back, which is pretty hard to do since I think he got a job as a motor pool officer in the Army.
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Totally uncalled for. There some some negative postings about him on the forum and I personally might not like what he has done, but saying he was "hated," he is a "jerk" is too strong in my opinon. You might make a comment "someone in his platoon shot him in the back" nonchalantly, but that is very serious comment. There is no such thing as a "motor pool" officer in the Army. I haven't followed Steelman's Army career, but as far as I know he completed his service obligation.
 
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Sounds like the person above was "in the know" about how people feel about him.... So it may be called for...


Also, did he complete his service obligation.
 
LineInTheSand said:
Sounds like the person above was "in the know" about how people feel about him.... So it may be called for...


Also, did he complete his service obligation.
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I am usually skeptical of any person that could be consider "in the know" without a disclaimer or context. I see like as when someone asks me did I know someone at West Point. Being a cadet or hearing some conversations doesn't mean that person speaks the majority opinion or the truth. Lastly or just me, the reference to "motor pool officer" just bothers me.

I should have said active duty service obligation. According to a media report

"Steelman served in the Army at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., before military officials told him he was free to pursue the NFL. He's now serving on reserve duty."

http://www.examiner.com/article/steelman-at-wide-receiver-that-s-what-the-ravens-think
 
Belittling someone, anyone, like was done above shows a total lack of class. Whether they know him or not, and that makes the comment by LITS pretty classless too.

Whom among us is without fault? Some people seem so eager to put others down, and to revel in their disappointments is a sign of a life unfulfilled.

Steelman was one heck of a competitor.
 
Maplerock said:
Belittling someone, anyone, like was done above shows a total lack of class. Whether they know him or not, and that makes the comment by LITS pretty classless too.

Whom among us is without fault? Some people seem so eager to put others down, and to revel in their disappointments is a sign of a life unfulfilled.

Steelman was one heck of a competitor.
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Eh, I'm sure he'll live. I'm just lucky no one judged me from my JV soccer skills, but I'm guessing from what I've read here that his fellow cadets like him so little less because of how he played on the field and more from his actions off of the field.
 
Yes, he will survive. If we talked to everyone that knows you (or me), would they speak highly? Would we want them belittling us on a public forum?

Sometimes people are jealous. He got lots of press and TV attention. Some teammates may not have liked that. Even if he was a jerk, why would you want to jump on? That's what I was trying to say.

Didn't your momma tell you "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all."? :)
 
He gets attention because he chose a self-serving route.

And not everyone I know would have positive things to say about me... But I gave up having that be one of my major concerns long ago. Some people's opinions matter to me... Many don't. I doubt my opinion would matter to him, but remember, my comment was about someone else's comment... And not about any direct knowledge I have about the guy. I've never seen him play and I couldn't pick him out of a lineup.
 
unfortunately some have nothing better to do than post snarkey classless comments on webpages, guess they just need to get a life. Right NAS?
 
I’ve been away from this thread for a little while - I was out getting a life.

If I have to take the time to explain why many, many people associated with WP do not take much of a liking to this guy, then you will never understand. To put it very basically, he has gone against the tenets of West Point in how he has conducted himself. And the fact that he is now out, while his classmates remain deployable, does not sit well with many. I seriously don’t know how he could ever show his face at a class reunion.
 
parentalunit2 said:
I’ve been away from this thread for a little while - I was out getting a life.

If I have to take the time to explain why many, many people associated with WP do not take much of a liking to this guy, then you will never understand. To put it very basically, he has gone against the tenets of West Point in how he has conducted himself. And the fact that he is now out, while his classmates remain deployable, does not sit well with many. I seriously don’t know how he could ever show his face at a class reunion.
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Personally, I don't care for Steelman. Never met him and I won't recognize him if I ran into him. He does deserve all the attention he gets. Still Steelman is not the only cadet that tried to pursue a pro sports career or even got out his miltiary committment early to pursue a sports career. A little bit differnt, but according to Wiki, David Robinson need a waiver to attend Naval Academy because he was too tall. He grew while he was at the academy, which further restircted his ability to serve after graduation. The Navy is not desiged to accommodate someone that is 6' 8" plus. He served two years and got released.

Little bit different, back in 1995/1996, during an Army drawdown, the Army offered 1LTs an early out from active duty service with reserve committment. The rumor was that too many West Point grads (my classmates) applied so the Army had to limit it to 50 West Point grads. One of those early outs was a good friend of mine. Perhaps it's only me, but I believe staying or not staying in the active duty is an individual decision and if the Army allows someone to leave early that's fine with me.
 
I believe I read some place where the army will allow West Point Graduates an out after 2 yrs to pursue a professional sports career. They must serve their remainder in the reserves. If it's allowed I don't see the big deal.
 
There is no cut and dry on this. There are policies, but like all things in the military there are the "at the discretion..." lines written in. The policy has been applied differently each time leadership changes. The Navy allowed 2 athletes from USNA Class of 2015 to play professionally while also serving concurrently in public affairs, recruiting, and other roles. Greenspan was drafted in the MLS draft and play for the Colorado team and Cardona is the long snapper for the Patriots. I will admit that all the articles I read about both had them saying all the right things in the media about serving if required. Previously, there were a few USNA players who tried to get to the NFL, but most had to serve first. Eckel had to serve a few years. He isn't currently on a roster but has been in the past. He is in the reserves still and I even believe might be at USNA right now as a LT working until he signs with another team (he got hurt in training camp according to the news I saw). I think the inconsistency of the policy is frustrating for many. Should they serve first? Are they providing more to the Navy in their recruiting roles? Everyone has their opinions on these.
 
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