USNA player’s failed test causes ‘uproar’
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futurepilot22
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Is this true at all the academies though? Is Navy simply the victim of unusually bad luck, and the other academies have the same issues?
I think LUCK has NOTHING to do with it...I think it is the result of the USNA lowering the bar for certain applicants...and, I believe all Academies have their thorns...However, I feel the "thorns" should be removed before they have the chance to become questionable "leaders' Of our military forces...scary stuff for certain!!
Just_A_Mom
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He is not the first Academy mid/cadet to take an extra semester to graduate, nor will he probably be the last. The press just usually doesn't examine every single cadet/mid under a microscope and not all happen to be a D-1 athlete.
Cadets and mids are turned back for a variety of reasons - to be turned back in and of itself does not make one the scum of the earth.
I don't know this person or anything about his character. However, to make the connection between being turned back and being of questionable character and a poor officer material is a stretch.
Cadets and mids are turned back for a variety of reasons - to be turned back in and of itself does not make one the scum of the earth.
I don't know this person or anything about his character. However, to make the connection between being turned back and being of questionable character and a poor officer material is a stretch.
Luigi59
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The article states that there were approx 25 who did not graduate on time (due to illness or injuries) with their Class of 2009 - and all of them have since graduated, EXCEPT for Shun White. He's the last one, still there.
It seems he was given a lot of time off to practice with a professional football team, and allowed to miss classes and exams.
The criticism is not directed at Shun White, but at the USNA administration and their continuation of a two-tiered policy (punishments and rewards) toward revenue-producing D-1 athletes and non-revenue producing midshipmen.
Just_A_Mom
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Au contraire - there was criticism of his character and that is what I was addressing. I thought I read somewhere he finished in Dec, got commissioned and was coaching while waiting for his assignment. I could be wrong though - I'll check it out.
Does the number of 25 include any mids who began at USNA in the class of 2009 and were turned back to the class of 2010? NO.
Were there any mids who were not given the same opportunity he was given??? i.e. failed a senior required exam and separated????
Time for USNA to have a losing season and letting Army and AF win a few against them.
Au contraire -
Time for USNA to have a losing season and letting Army and AF win a few against them.
I think it's time for Navy to start following an Honor Code instead of an Honor Concept.
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There is a lot of murk here. I found this story online, on the Marine Corps Times Mobile. It's the most current spin on the football option.
And, delayed graduation is common, for a variety of reasons, and is not a special deal for athletes. Though I must say, I haven't seen one this delayed. I do know the Administration cannot reveal certain things for privacy reasons, but the entire case still leaves me unsettled for a variety of reasons.
Critics say some athletes might skip service
BY PHILIP EWING - STAFF WRITER | POSTED : MONDAY MAR 29, 2010 13:55:55 EDT
A star Naval Academy football player set to graduate almost a year late will enter the fleet under contract to an NFL team, in an arrangement critics called troubling but which academy officials said is completely above board.
Midshipman 1st Class Shun White, a slotback whose four years on the team helped sustain Navy’s gridiron dominance, was signed last year by the New England Patriots as part of a deal to practice with the team in his spare time. There is no agreement in place for him to break his commitment, but a source said the academy allowed him to reschedule an exam last spring so he could attend a practice.
White’s contract with the Patriots gives the team rights to sign him as soon as he becomes available.
He is one of a handful of top players who have signed such a contract. Athletics Director Chet Gladchuk said contracts binding mids to pro teams are a technicality, to let midshipmen have a relationship with pro players. It does not mean they can play in the big time.
“It’s very clear to everyone on the Yard ... with those that will ask the question, ‘Is there any chance that the secretary of the Navy might release us to play in the NFL?’ The answer is no here,” Gladchuk said. “Number one, you’ve got an obligation to go serve; number two, the NFL knows very clearly that as a ... sailor or Marine, there’s no chance at all for them to participate.”
The Patriots allow mids to practice with them mostly as a favor from head coach Bill Belichick, whose father spent years at Annapolis as an assistant football coach, Gladchuk said. But it’s not that simple, two sources told Marine Corps Times: Permitting active-duty officers to have deals with the NFL gives them an incentive not to fulfill their service obligations, they said.
“Bottom line: Slippery. Really slippery,” said a Naval Academy academic source, who was not authorized to talk publicly and asked not to be identified.
The relationship between service academy athletes and the NFL was spotlighted March 11, when two NFL teams made overtures toward former Air Force Academy and U.S. Military Academy football players. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Air Force 2nd Lt. Chad Hall to a three-year contract after he was released two years into his four-year service commitment. The Detroit Lions were reportedly close to offering a deal to Army 1st Lt. Caleb Campbell, who was drafted by the Lions in 2008 but barred from playing because of his service obligation.
A Navy Department regulation put into place by former Navy Secretary Donald Winter forbids Marines and sailors from being released early to play in the pros.
In White’s case, the Naval Academy has gone to extraordinary measures to make possible his relationship with the Patriots, said a second source with knowledge of academy athletics. Officials permitted White to miss an exam to make a Patriots practice last spring, even though he was academically ineligible to graduate, the source said. White, who was not commissioned with his class of 2009 shipmates last May, has been allowed to spend extra months in Annapolis making up his grades.
Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said privacy regulations mean he could discuss only the most basic details about White’s status. In a written statement, Carpenter said White “is a midshipman from the class of 2009 currently completing professional development training.”
White was one of about 25 midshipmen from the class of ’09 who didn’t finish on schedule, Carpenter said, either because of injuries, illnesses or academics. All of the others have graduated.
White, through the academy’s athletics department, did not respond to an interview request.
One reason critics worried about relationships between mids and the NFL is the story of former Ensign Kyle Eckel, class of 2005, who plays for the New Orleans Saints.
Eckel was administratively separated from the Navy a year after graduation under circumstances that have never been clear. Eckel, who had a practice deal with the Patriots while on active duty, was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2006 but did not play that year. He was billed more than $96,000 for his Naval Academy tuition.
And, delayed graduation is common, for a variety of reasons, and is not a special deal for athletes. Though I must say, I haven't seen one this delayed. I do know the Administration cannot reveal certain things for privacy reasons, but the entire case still leaves me unsettled for a variety of reasons.
Critics say some athletes might skip service
BY PHILIP EWING - STAFF WRITER | POSTED : MONDAY MAR 29, 2010 13:55:55 EDT
A star Naval Academy football player set to graduate almost a year late will enter the fleet under contract to an NFL team, in an arrangement critics called troubling but which academy officials said is completely above board.
Midshipman 1st Class Shun White, a slotback whose four years on the team helped sustain Navy’s gridiron dominance, was signed last year by the New England Patriots as part of a deal to practice with the team in his spare time. There is no agreement in place for him to break his commitment, but a source said the academy allowed him to reschedule an exam last spring so he could attend a practice.
White’s contract with the Patriots gives the team rights to sign him as soon as he becomes available.
He is one of a handful of top players who have signed such a contract. Athletics Director Chet Gladchuk said contracts binding mids to pro teams are a technicality, to let midshipmen have a relationship with pro players. It does not mean they can play in the big time.
“It’s very clear to everyone on the Yard ... with those that will ask the question, ‘Is there any chance that the secretary of the Navy might release us to play in the NFL?’ The answer is no here,” Gladchuk said. “Number one, you’ve got an obligation to go serve; number two, the NFL knows very clearly that as a ... sailor or Marine, there’s no chance at all for them to participate.”
The Patriots allow mids to practice with them mostly as a favor from head coach Bill Belichick, whose father spent years at Annapolis as an assistant football coach, Gladchuk said. But it’s not that simple, two sources told Marine Corps Times: Permitting active-duty officers to have deals with the NFL gives them an incentive not to fulfill their service obligations, they said.
“Bottom line: Slippery. Really slippery,” said a Naval Academy academic source, who was not authorized to talk publicly and asked not to be identified.
The relationship between service academy athletes and the NFL was spotlighted March 11, when two NFL teams made overtures toward former Air Force Academy and U.S. Military Academy football players. The Philadelphia Eagles signed Air Force 2nd Lt. Chad Hall to a three-year contract after he was released two years into his four-year service commitment. The Detroit Lions were reportedly close to offering a deal to Army 1st Lt. Caleb Campbell, who was drafted by the Lions in 2008 but barred from playing because of his service obligation.
A Navy Department regulation put into place by former Navy Secretary Donald Winter forbids Marines and sailors from being released early to play in the pros.
In White’s case, the Naval Academy has gone to extraordinary measures to make possible his relationship with the Patriots, said a second source with knowledge of academy athletics. Officials permitted White to miss an exam to make a Patriots practice last spring, even though he was academically ineligible to graduate, the source said. White, who was not commissioned with his class of 2009 shipmates last May, has been allowed to spend extra months in Annapolis making up his grades.
Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Joe Carpenter said privacy regulations mean he could discuss only the most basic details about White’s status. In a written statement, Carpenter said White “is a midshipman from the class of 2009 currently completing professional development training.”
White was one of about 25 midshipmen from the class of ’09 who didn’t finish on schedule, Carpenter said, either because of injuries, illnesses or academics. All of the others have graduated.
White, through the academy’s athletics department, did not respond to an interview request.
One reason critics worried about relationships between mids and the NFL is the story of former Ensign Kyle Eckel, class of 2005, who plays for the New Orleans Saints.
Eckel was administratively separated from the Navy a year after graduation under circumstances that have never been clear. Eckel, who had a practice deal with the Patriots while on active duty, was signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2006 but did not play that year. He was billed more than $96,000 for his Naval Academy tuition.