VOR Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 DETROIT (AP)—Caleb Campbell will not get a chance to play for the Detroit Lions because of a change in military policy. Campbell was a seventh-round draft pick for the Lions in April. At the time, Army policy would have allowed the West Point graduate to serve as a recruiter if he made the team. But a subsequent Department of Defense policy has superseded the 2005 Army policy. In a letter to Lions president Matt Millen dated Wednesday, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan P. Liba wrote that Campbell has been ordered to give up professional football for “full-time traditional military duties.” Liba wrote that 2nd Lt. Campbell may ask to be released from his active duty obligations in May 2010. Liba said Campbell was allowed to enter the draft “in good faith.” http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-l...p&type=lgns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 And the Lions get screwed out of a draft pick. At least Viti was an UDFA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marauderswr80 Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Lions should be awarded another draft choice. I dont care if it was a 7th rounder or not. They got ripped. I see the guy is good enough to play school ball, but when the chance to play in the NFL comes he cant. Seriously, where do we live? Dont feel like the USA anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 They probably need him so that we can make another mistake and invade Iran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 They have a prime opportunity to get a high profile recruiter and they blow it. Nothing shocks me with this government anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyT Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 They have a prime opportunity to get a high profile recruiter and they blow it. Nothing shocks me with this government anymore. Sucks. They used him during the draft to muster a ton of good press and then ripped it all away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffaloboyinATL Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Wow, that is really disappointing. I could see if they changed the policy going forward, but to make it retroactive is unfair. Bad move from a PR perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Drane Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 If this keeps up, the NFL won't be the only draft we follow so close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Bills fan Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Jeez. How many military people do you think this policy change will affect? It only applies to military personnel that are professional athletes, right? (So it can't affect that many.) You'd think that they'd rather have the positive PR (propaganda) than gaining little extra canon fodder. Goes to show that Bush's Iraq "liberation" has really f'd the military. (What's the total bill now?) What a stickin' mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 This situation isn't much different from that of David Robinson. The Spurs drafted him, knowing full well that he had to complete his service in the Navy before playing in the NBA full-time. I believe he did his two years of service, then left the Navy to play in the NBA. IMO, this is what Campbell signed up for and it's not a new policy. Had he been able to serve as a recruiter and not in the military, it would have likely been via special permission. I know we all would have liked to see him in the league this year, but his service should come first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 This situation isn't much different from that of David Robinson. The Spurs drafted him, knowing full well that he had to complete his service in the Navy before playing in the NBA full-time. I believe he did his two years of service, then left the Navy to play in the NBA. IMO, this is what Campbell signed up for and it's not a new policy. Had he been able to serve as a recruiter and not in the military, it would have likely been via special permission. I know we all would have liked to see him in the league this year, but his service should come first. It's not the same at all. The policy had already been interpreted in such a way it would allow Campbell to serve as a recruiter and play football. Detroit didn't select him knowing they'd have to wait. The army "revised its interpretation" of the policy after it had been well publicized Campbell could play football. You also have to love Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb's use of "it is what it is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 I don't have a problem making service academy players serve first. That is the deal for non-athletes. Why should you get different rules just because you can run fast or shoot a basketball? PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It's a fair rule, it's just been unfairly applied: They told him he could play, they told the Lions he could play, he got drafted, they bragged about how fair they were and what a great PR move this would be for the Army, and then the day before he's supposed to show up for work, they tell him he can't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 They could have waited another month or two until the Lions cut him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloWings Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It's not the same at all. The policy had already been interpreted in such a way it would allow Campbell to serve as a recruiter and play football. Detroit didn't select him knowing they'd have to wait. The army "revised its interpretation" of the policy after it had been well publicized Campbell could play football. OK....I must have missed that part. I didn't know the policy was already interpreted that way, so I assumed the Lions knew that Campbell couldn't play right away. I agree that the players should serve first, but if the Lions were told the wrong thing or somehow misled, they got the shaft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It's not the same at all. The policy had already been interpreted in such a way it would allow Campbell to serve as a recruiter and play football. Detroit didn't select him knowing they'd have to wait. The army "revised its interpretation" of the policy after it had been well publicized Campbell could play football. You also have to love Lt. Col. Anne Edgecomb's use of "it is what it is." Correct. And the Army certainly didn't hate the PR boost they received when Lt. Campbell showed up at the draft in uniform, with the crowd chanting his name and ESPN running wall-to-wall coverage on him. I don't have a problem with Campbell and Viti being called to active duty; after all, that's the deal they signed up for when they entered the USMA. (And I thank them for their service.) However, I do think it's BS for the Army to make the play-football-and-recruit option available to them, only to flip-flop on the whole idea a few months later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scribo Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Sports reporters, and I mean the big-time ones, need to call the Pentagon today and demand an official, on the record, on camera explanation. If it is demanded, the Pentagon will do it. I think Mike and Mike in the Morning producers need to be all over Sec. Gates' public relations staff right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 These guys got screwed. I think there were only 2 or 3 army players who here offered shots to make nfl teams this year. The NFL should not allow the Army to run commercials durring games for the first two weeks of the season, one week for every guy who had to go back to the army without being cut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It's not that big of a deal. You go to west point to be an army officer, not to play pro football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stl Bills Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 It's not that big of a deal. You go to west point to be an army officer, not to play pro football. Thats not the point...........this stuff happens all the time. A good friend of mine was a scout sniper in the Marine Corps. and was only required to do two tours in Iraq, he ended up doing 3 (the third was voluntary) and became one of the highest decorated soilders in the entire state of MO (he was a Silver Star Recipient). He'd been done with his active duty in the military for about a year, locked down a job he loved coaching football at the high school we went to and became engaged. Then somehow the Military changed their policy and somehow (don't know all the specifics) tried to force him into a fourth tour in Iraq. Meanwhile his friend, who desperately wanted to do anther tour, was denied reinlistment because he had gotten some tattoos below his elbows. My buddy pretty much told the Marine Corps. to shove it up there ass but it took the help of Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill to get the whole thing to go away. It was rediculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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