NFL Rookie Caleb Campbell Must Serve The Army Before Realizing Football Dreams
Linebacker was gearing up for training camp when he learned of the new policy.
Caleb Campbell working out with the Detroit Lions in May
Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
There's no crying in football ? or in the Army, for that matter. But after being issued a helmet and gearing up for his first NFL practice with the Detroit Lions, Caleb Campbell admitted that he shed a few tears Wednesday when he learned he would be joining his fellow West Point graduates in either Afghanistan or Iraq instead of taking the field.
When Campbell was drafted in the seventh round by the Lions in April, it opened up a debate about whether it was fair that he'd be lacing up his cleats come fall, when his comrades would be lacing up their combat boots, thanks to a new rule that allowed military-academy grads to go straight to the NFL and delay their service.
According to ESPN, it also might have ruffled feathers at the Navy and Air Force, because their graduates were playing under different rules put down under a Department of Defense directive, which required them to serve two years of active duty before applying for a release to pursue their sports dreams.
Thanks to the Army's alternative-service-option policy created in 2005, Campbell would have been allowed to play football while completing his military service as a recruiter and then in the reserves. But the Army revised its interpretation of the policy on July 8, though word didn't reach Campbell and the Lions until just before training camp was to begin.
"When I got drafted, I told people that I was going to have the best of both worlds,"
Campbell told ESPN. "I was going to be in the United States Army and I was going to have a chance to play professional football. Now I have the best of one world, and I'm very positive about that. It's all going to work out. ... I'm in great shape, and I'm going to stay in great shape. I'm going to fulfill my duty to the United States Army and do what I've got to do. One day, hopefully, I'll get another opportunity to play in the NFL."
Campbell admitted that he was upset at first and cried when he learned of the change in the Army's policy, but an Army spokesperson told
The Associated Press that the defensive back known for stuffing the run could still get a chance to shine.
"It's unfortunate, but it doesn't mean Caleb Campbell's dream is dead. It just means it will be delayed," Army spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Anne Edgecomb said. "We want to take care of soldiers, and dashing their hopes is not what we intend. But it is what it is."
Entire article:
Caleb Campbell Must Serve The Army Before Playing In The NFL - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
Caleb Campbell: Welcome to the Army
By now, we all know the story of Caleb Campbell, who after being drafted by the Detroit Lions this spring, was allowed to defer his Army service.
Now, just this week, Campbell was told by Army and department of defense officials he would not be allowed to continue his NFL dream and must report to "regular Active duty."
This is a mistake for the Department of Defense on so many levels. It is mind boggling.
First, there was all the attention his story generated for recruiting purposes. That attention swung both ways positive and negative. The Army capitalized on his story to attempt to generate as much positive media coverage as it could get.
Smart move. In a media dominated by anti Bush administration reporters who often only report negatively on the military, it was a smart move to take the initiative and try something new.
It is not such a smart move to then rip away that deal that you tried to use for positive press.
Second, it really makes the Army look bad to do this. Again, we are force fed negative images from the biased news media to the movies, which I won't name that flat out lie about the stories they tell about the military or paint the military in a very negative light.
Almost no true war movies are ever made. They are made to further the point of the director or studio. This move only reinforces the built in stereotypes that exist about the Army that they lie to people and screw you over endlessly.
Third, Why now? Why do this now? This makes no sense at all. I understand how situations change and that you just suck it up and drive on, which is what Mr. Campbell will do.
But why wait until after you spent months promoting this to shoot it down now?
If he made the team, this would have been perfect for recruiting heading into the school year when for obvious reasons recruiting numbers will drop when young candidates go back to school.
Even though recruiting and retention numbers are at record highs (which the biased media will never tell you), it is just bad publicity to publicly go back on your word like this.
Finally, this makes no sense in that all the free recruiting that this may have help the West Point Football team achieve is now lost. Most high school athletes probably do not want to play at a service academy in the first place.
Now they have even more reasons not to go. I have been in these shoes before I know things change with the Army as well as anyone, but in this case, I know they let a great chance slip away that they will never get back.
Not to mention, they probably made Caleb Campbell's decision on making a career of the Army an even more clear choice.
The Army and Department of Defense have made a huge fumble they won't be able to recover.
Entire article:
Memo to Caleb Campbell: Welcome to the Army | Bleacher Report
Also see:
ESPN - Campbell says he cried but accepts Army's orders - NFL
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