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When the Detroit Lions used a seventh-round draft pick on Army safety Caleb Campbell in April, Department of Defense policy allowed West Point graduates to avoid active military service if they had the ability to become professional athletes.
Now the Department of Defense has changed that policy, and Campbell will not be able to play for the Lions.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan P. Liba wrote a letter to Lions president Matt Millen today, saying Campbell has been ordered to give up football for “full-time traditional military duties.”
Under current Department of Defense policy, Campbell will be eligible to request release from his active duty obligations in May 2010. At that point, he would have to reimburse the Army $120,000 for his West Point education and enroll in a reserve unit for six years.
July 23rd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Was Caleb Campbell projected to make the team? The policy (at one point) regarding grads who want to play professionally states if a player “fails to achieve the desired benefit for the Department of the Army, he or she will immediately return to active duty no later than the termination date of excess leave.”
“Desired benefit”? Hmmm… Sounds to me like they don’t just want a West Pointer drafted and signed, they want a player that’s going to be a star. I’m not sure if Caleb was that player, and with their current PR going down the tubes I doubt if they’re going to produce that player any time soon.
It’s been a woeful half-century for my Black Knights…
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:23 pm
This is a very short-sighted move by the Army.
Athletes are a lightning rod for attention, the kind of attention that the Army pays a lot more than one soldier’s salary to try and generate.
Athletics are a source of pride. Ask any sports-playing university.
There are creative solutions that could have been pursued to turn Campbell’s NFL time as something other than “getting out of a service requirement” (how about tacking on a couple of extra years of military service to be served after his NFL stint if he managed to be in the NFL for 3+ years or something?)
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:25 pm
While I was one of the people here screaming that he shouldn’t have gotten out of duty, ONCE they told him he could play football instead they should’ve let him. Can’t go back like that.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:27 pm
If the Army gave him (or the Lions) anything in writing that he would be allowed to be drafted/play in the NFL, he can sue the Military for breach of contract. I had an Uncle that enlisted with a written contract that his M.O.S would be small arms repair, After basic, he was assigned to tank mechanic school. He sued, and won, and was discharged. It does make for some bad PR if Campbell or the Lions do pursue this in the courts, but not nearly as bad as the bad PR for the Military in general, and the Army specifically. Wow - all this for a 7th rounder, too!
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:35 pm
As a taxpayer in Louisianna I would like JaMarcus to reimburse me for his education. What a mornonic comment!
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Bondem,
Just so you know this year I am going to get $8,000 in federal pell grants to go to college and through my first two years have received over $12,000 in federal and state grants. I won’t have to go to Iraq or serve my country in any way to get this money. Even though I have already done both. I would guess at least half of student receive these grants.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Personally, as a taxpayer I do not want to pay for his education if he does not want to complete his obligation.Maybe a better compromise would be to give him a window to try out & if he makes it in the NFL ,he is responsible to repay his education, if he doesn’t then complete his obligation.. To say he will attract athletes to Army is a bunch of crap. Any top athlete who honestly feels he has shot at playing in the NFL will accept a scholarship from a “football factory”. When you agree to a scholarship to attend Army you understand what you are committing to.Roger Staubach honored his committment & so should Caleb Campell. By by allowing him a window to repay his education & serve the intersts in all involved sounds fair.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 6:46 pm
He was a 7th round pick. Serve his time.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
This silliness of letting Academy athletes get out of their six year active commitments so they can turn pro should have never gotten started. You want to be a pro, don’t join an Academy. Their purpose is to train officers for our military, not to get nice publicity for having a few pros.
Of course, I guess we can blame David Robinson. *g* If he hadn’t grown six inches after joining the Naval Academy, none of this would have ever started.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Dumb question, I know, but how do the Lions get compensated for this stupid decision?
Feel bad for Campbell, though.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:22 pm
That’s awesome. That Campbell guy seems like a real jerk. I am glad the Army really stuck it to him as bad as the possibly could.
I wonder if they will tell him that they’ll supply body army for him and change their minds at the last second. SUCKER! hahaha, good times.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Lion Down, my husband was in the Air Force for 20 years and he did pay taxes. The only pay that is not taxable is your housing allowance and combat pay. I went to a State University and it was anything but free. I’ll show you my student loan bill if you like. And my son’s bill too come to think of it.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 pm
All of these people that are saying he needs to honor ect are forgetting one thing. All of the branches recruit sports players just like all of the other colleges. They figure that the odds of any of their men or women turning pro are slim, and the ones that do generally serve time in the off season, not to mention all of the free press. I believe that since they are able to recruit with the promise of being able to play, he should be allowed to. As we all know, all military members have a contract. If there is a clause in there that says if he is drafted he can go play, the Army would be in breach of contract for not allowing him. If there is no such provision though, he is screwed. That really sucks.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
hikebowski, he got a $250,000 free West Point education, not a little $20,000 grant. He also AGREED to go into the Army and signed papers to that effect. It’s not even close to being the same as getting a Pell grant.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:50 pm
You don’t go to West Point to be come an athlete. You go to become the best trained leader and soldier you can. In case some of you forgot, there is a war going on and sports take a backseat. To those who have served, thank you for your service.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I echo the sentiments of those who say they have no problem in general with a decision either way by the Department of Defense (allowed to play professional sports v. having to serve right off the bat) … BUT once a decision is made, it has to be respected. What Army did was disrespectful, cruel, and wrong.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Bondem, do more students go to the military academies or state universities? So do you think more of your “taxpayer money” goes to random joes off the street that go to regular colleges or the few that go to academies. I think the answer is quite obvious. What else is obvious is that you are a douche bag.
They said they would let the man play so they need to be true to their words and let the man play. If anything the military should put in a provision that makes him get any training that they feel he needs during the off seasons to make sure he is up to par and make him serve his contract when his football career is over.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 8:18 pm
No matter what your opinion on whether or not he owes anything to us taxpayers, it should be common sense that you can’t simply change the rules and yank someone back into active duty.
What this all boils down to is one word: Grandfather. If they’d have let this one person go and said “New rule, starting… now”, this potential PR disaster would have been averted.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 8:30 pm
They are doing whats best for his future cause playing for the Lions is like a 6 year boot camp to nowhere .
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July 23rd, 2008 at 8:31 pm
You can’t ‘change your mind’ once you join the Army. They shouldn’t be able to change their mind either. If they feel he needs to honor his military commitment - cool. But, don’t tell him he can do something and then pull it back. That’s B.S.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Let him play. Like the Army really needs him? They could simply use him in ads, and he could serve in the offseason. Get real. I am ex-military and we all know this is stupid. He may have to honor his commitment and I am behind that, but the Army made a commitment to him by allowing him to be drafted and play. They have reneged. Campbell has never said he won’t honor his end. The Army is at fault here.
War? This is a misconcieved and mispromulgated police action which was based on unfounded premises. i.e. We were lied to and our brethren are dying for nothing.
Prayers to my Brother In Arms: Sgt. Schuyler Haynes. RIP 2007. Iraq.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Let’s see, go fight in a Third World country or play for the Detroit Lions. Which fate is worse?
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:16 pm
It really sucks for the kid because this was his dream, but he didn’t have much of a chance at making the team as a 7th round draft pick. To be honest I think it was more a PR move on the part of the Lions than anything by drafting him. He was the feel good story of the draft.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 pm
If you want to play pro ball don’t go to a service academy. Period. My brother played there and was an all-conference punter as well as the third ranked punter in the nation. Another punter in his conference ended up getting drafted but he of course was not. And why is this? Because West Point trains the future leaders of our military not the future stars of the NFL. While I’m not saying that the shenanigans that the DOD just pulled is OK, I do understand it. He’s not some grunt. He was just commissioned into the US Army as a 2nd Lt. and he needs to serve his time. Believe me i would have loved to see my brother in the NFL but he knew when he attended West Point what his responsibilities were. I feel for Mr. Campbell and respect the hell out of him for attending West Point (especially in war-time) but he knew what he was getting himself into.
GO BIRDS.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
“Wow, it’s like getting drafted twice! Once by the NFL, once by the army.”
- It’s not, because Campbell chose to enlist, and this statement is an insult to all those drafted soldiers who have died in combat.
This guy enlisted in the armed services. The fact that he is a good athlete should change nothing. It’s unfair to all of the other soldiers to give this guy special treatment just because he has some special non-military skill.
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