“With the fifth pick in the 1999 NBA Draft the Toronto Raptors selects Jonathan Bender out of Picayune High School.” Where is Jonathan Bender now? At the end of the 2006 season in which Jonathan was injured for the third consecutive season, Jonathan retired due to chronic knee problems. So what does Jonathan have to fall back on because he can no longer play basketball? Nothing. Why? Because Jonathan Bender never graduated or attended college. Due to the fact that athletes going into the pros are not always guaranteed money and financial stability for life, college athletes should complete their higher form of education. Due to the face Jonathan did not obtain a college degree he will go from making a couple of million dollars a year to less then forty thousand dollars a year. Even with all this evidence, several coaches are trying to push the NCAA to revise all of its professional legibility requirements especially college football eligibility rules. http://www.fanblogs.com/ncaa/006988.php
I think that the push for the revision of college football eligibility rules is a terrible thing, especially when it comes to the game of football. Football is a grown man’s sport and therefore college football players must develop their bodies as much as possible so they can prepare themselves for week in and week out pain and anguish. Unlike the NBA where the occasional straight-out-of high school basketball players do not make it, football players are more susceptible to injuries. In the NFL and there is a greater chance athletes careers will end shorter thereby leaving them unemployed. Currently to become an Professional Football Player a college football player must finish his junior year to become eligible for the NFL draft. I believe this order should remain so if a college football player’s career does not pan out they can be prepared for the real world. Lets face it… Who really wants to be the next Jonathan Bender?
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Mark, I like the way you began this article. By giving a quality example of a player most people, myself included, have never heard of, you caught my attention right away. Athletes who make the jump right to the pros do expose themselves to the risk of not having a productive future if their sport does not work out. They lack the necessary education to support themselves if they are forced to work in the real world. I do, however, feel that the NCAA should allow football players to leave after two years. Though I agree that players are foolish for leaving college early, if they truly feel they are ready to become a professional, they should have that option. These men are of an age where they should be able to think for themselves and make major life decisions on their own. The football players may not be ready in most cases, but there are obviously cases in which the player is completely ready to enter the draft, despite being a year or two younger than the other draftees. For the most part though, I like where you stand on this issue.
Mark, I agree with you on the fact that the NBA should instate an age minimum that requires players to attend college fow a few years. It seems a lot of players who went pro out of highschool fizzled out of the NBA after just a few years. Plus it makes college basketball better because it makes the good players stay in school a couple years. As for the NFL minimum I think it is right where it should be because risk of injury is much higher in football than in basketball. However unless players stay until they graduate they don't really have an education to fall back on if their sports careers don't work out.
Mark, I agree with you that NCAA should keep it's eligibility for the NFL. I don't think that players are physically ready to go to the NFL after just 2 years out of high school. Like Taylor said it should be the players, but should it? Kids are influenced so much by professional athletes that they look past what actually is right for them and their body and think that these rules are garbage. In the NBA your body does not get beat up like NFL players do so it’s ok if they leave earlier. But I do not think there should be an age minimum for the NBA. Jim Boheim is quoted in saying that the rule should not be there because it hurts the kid’s careers because a lot of them don’t care and just want to go to the NBA. But as for the NFL there is no question that the rule is perfect and there should be no change.
Mark you also caught my attention like you did with Taylor. I feel that putting in a name that not many people know who was drafted so high really can get the reader wanting more. I like how you compared the eligibility with football and basketball. I agree that football needs to remain the same. Doctors can say thay most kids don't stop growing until their lower twenties which is exactly what football players are when they go to the NFL. I feel that the NBA did the right thing by making the players go to college but I feel that they should attend one more year. They only have to go to college for one year. I think that basketball should also be two. If a kid is that good where he can leave for the draft after his freshman year, why can't he stay for his sophomore? I agree that athletes expose themselves too early. I think that professional teams workouts are much harder then college and working out too much can stunt your body growth. That's exactly the opposite of what you would want to go to the pro's. I like the arguement you made and agree with you 100%.
Mark I agree with you when you said that athletes who jump into the NBA too early expose themselves to having nothing if they get hurt. Although lets be honest who are we to judge the decision players make whether or not they go straight to the pros or stay and go to college and get a degree to fall back on. Hypothetically lets just say that Lebron got hurt his third year in the NBA and could never return to the game ever again. Would we critize him and say "Why didn't you just go to school for a few years?" No we wouldn't because he was a stellar athlete who was almost too good to play in college. I mean if you were a player like him and you had the choice of making millions right away or waiting a few years what would you do? If it was me I would take the big bucks right away so there really isn't a right or wrong for this topic.
Mark, I also agree that they should keep the same Professional Eligibility rules. I like the Jonathan Bender story about a guy with tremendous upside and having it taken away from him in an instant. In terms of the NBA not only is it hard with the day in and day out schedule, but how many of us 18-19 year olds are mature enough to make that transition? The players today are being flashed with money,glamour, notoriety and some become consumed by it. College can prepare these athletes from an educational standpoint as well as the atmosphere that they will encounter. On the flip side, in college football, I also agree that the rule is correct. The NFL is a league of men and the risk of injury is much higher. With their college education it can prepare them for the life outside of football and they will ultimately benefit. All in all I tend to agree with the other postings in that it is their lives, but they should seriously consider the next step that they are going to take.
The NFL should keep its rules of professional eligibility eventhough there is an occasional exception, such as Amobi Okoye who was just 19 when entered the NFL draft and he is doing just fine in his rookie season as he already has 2 sacks so far. So he can be an example of a player who can go against the odds and succeed. But as for the Jonathan Bender case, I dont think we can blame it soley on him. Coming out of HS, he was being tailed by a bunh of huge agents and everyone was pressuring him to go into the draft because of his athleticism and potential. All that money that was going to be giving to him after he was drafted and signed, seem very appealing to him so he jumped at it. I'm sure he can make a decent living out of his contracts he has signed throughout his career. I mean a few million should be good enough for most right? Injuries killed him too which isn't his fault. If I was him, I would have jumped on the oppurtunity too. But back to the main point, I think the player should have the right to choose when he is ready to enter the pro's. If they are smart enough, they will finish there degrees even after they leave. Many players nowadays still finish there degree so that they have something to fall back on if their career does not pan out, so lets not forget about them.
I would have to disagree with you for the simple fact that they are considered "men" by this time in their life. If I was a athlete that had a chance to go pro I personally would choose to wait but that's just me. I don't think they should have to wait because they are adults now, they should no the positives and negatives of leaving college early or in some cases not even starting college. I mean these "men" are 18 years old with the world in front of them, if someone offers them millions of dollars how can they pass that up? The point of going to college is to make more money in your future career but if your future career is dunking a basketball or throwing a touchdown pass why go to school? There should be no restrictions on what these athletes can do because it is a free country and if they think they can handle it more power to them.
I find it funny that all of you are acting like once you leave college the first time, then you can’t go back. Any athlete that has a truly legit chance at making it to the pros should do so. If they do not make it in the Pros, or they get hurt, they can always go back to school and finish getting their degree. Also, you keep mentioning injuries at the pro level, but people do get hurt in college. Look at Greg Oden, he’s out for the year and it hasn’t even started yet, but because he came out early, he still got his money. If he would have stayed in school and this injury had occurred, there would have most likely been no NBA for Mr. Oden, and if he did still make it, I guarantee he wouldn’t have gone number one. College football players that have a great sophomore year should most defiantly enter the draft, because if they go back to school and get themselves injured, their stock drops…a lot. You could be a first round talent, but not get picked until the third round because you suffered an injury, and that’s a lot of lost money.
Mark, I agree with you on most everything in your article. I side with Kevin in that the college football elgibility should remain the same to enter the draft.College football players can leave for the pros after their junior year and I think this is a great rule. If the player feels his skills are ready for the next level and he has nothing left to prove to scouts on the college field after his junior year I see no problem with him leaving because of the high risk of injury in football. However, I do agree with you that the age shouldn't be any lower to be elgible in the NFL draft because of the great point you made about football being a man's game and the players bodies may not have matured fully and therefore they may suffer injuries their first year or two in the NFL.If the player chooses not to finish his senior year of college and not earn his degree that is his own personal choice and a risk he has to be willing to take. It can only hurt him in the long run if his career ends early due to injuries. I strongly agree with you that there should be a rule that does not allow high school basketball players to be elgible for the NBA draft. The players should have to attend atleast two years of college because like Kevin said it would be better for the college basketball atmosphere and the player may benefit from the college experience academically and athletically.
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