planomateo
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This article is a few months ago. Time will tell if this turns out to be an alternative.
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Big Mac Bites: Could XFL take players straight from high school? Is Dirk really done?
Teenagers who want to go directly to the NBA will soon again have that chance, and the commissioner of the XFL has a similar vision for his new league.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, XFL commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck said the league, in select cases, will sign players who are recently out of high school.
Every other sport but football has allowed high schoolers to turn pro on some level; the NFL’s rule is a player must be three years removed from high school before he is eligible for the league.
“There is clearly potential to be a disruptor and it’s analogous to what the NCAA is going through with basketball,” Luck said.
Luck said nothing is stopping the XFL from allowing a high school graduate who has not played college ball to play in the league that will begin in the spring of 2020, and feature a team in Arlington.
“The three year eligibility rule is agreed to by the NFL and the NFL Player’s Association. We are not a signatory to that collective bargaining agreement,” Luck said. “The question is what policy would we have? I want to get all of my coaches together and get them in a room and hash through this issue. All of these guys, some more than others, have experience with college football. I want their thoughts on this.
“My thought on this is we will sign some players who are not quite eligible for the NFL. I am sure we will. How many? I can’t tell you. It won’t be 50 percent of our rosters. It won’t be 20 percent. There will be select cases.
“The standard I want to set out with my coaches is if we believe, collectively, that a kid is mentally, physically and mature enough to play against grown men, 25 or 27, then yes. If we don’t think that young man is ready for that, I would say let’s not do that. We would damage that kid’s career.”
With the XFL being a spring league, this would mean the recent high school graduate would not play a fall schedule. He could potentially play two full XFL seasons as essentially his “college career,” that serves as audition for the NFL.
The more likely scenario is the college freshman or sophomore who decides he doesn’t like it, or flunks out, and drops out in favor of the XFL.
“We might find the guy who is in his third year of college, and he plays but he gets hurt in Week 2,” Luck said. “He doesn’t think he has enough film on him, so he could play with us. He drops out of school in the spring, which all of these guys do anyway to get ready for the draft, and he could play 10 games and he has his film.”
The new current spring league, the American Alliance of Football, uses the same eligibility rules as the NFL.
The last person to challenge the NFL on this issue was former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett in 2004. After two seasons at Ohio State, he took his case to the Supreme Court, and ultimately lost.
The NFL’s “concern” is putting an 18-year-old against 28-year-old men in a sport where size and strength are paramount to success.
“The supposition is that the kid coming out of high school is not ready unless he is an Adrian Peterson, Leonard Fournette or Herschel Walker; those guys jump out at you,” Luck said. “Now, you get a kid who plays freshman football and let’s say he flunks out; it happens. We probably would be more flexible with that kid because he has nowhere to go.”
In 1984, when the spring USFL was in its second season, a punter from the University of Arizona sued that league over its eligibility rules, which were essentially the same as the NFL.
Fearing this type of lawsuit, the USFL had agreed to grant an exception or two to players who wanted to leave college early, most notably for Hershel Walker.
A Los Angeles court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and it could have changed eligibility rules in the ‘80s. Because the league lasted only one more year before it folded, altering this long standing standard never happened.
“I am a big believer in college sports and the power of college sports,” Luck said. “I think it’s one of the great institutions in America. I am a believer in the paradigm. My standard response to this is that out of 500,000 student athletes every year, you’re going to have a not insignificant number that don’t feel like they are properly treated. It’s inevitable. It’s like the Army; there are guys who feel like they got the short end. But I do think this is viable.”
This week, Duke forward Zion Williamson sustained a mild knee sprain in a game against North Carolina when his shoe ripped. The immediate howl was that the “1-and-done” rule, which says a player must be one year removed from high school before he can join the NBA, hurts guys like Zion and others who would have made money had they been allowed to go straight to the NBA.
The day after Zion’s Nike went RIP on ESPN, the NBA proposed to the NBA Player’s Association to essentially allow high schoolers to go straight to the pros.
The XFL, in select cases, will soon be such an option for football players.
------------------------
Big Mac Bites: Could XFL take players straight from high school? Is Dirk really done?
Teenagers who want to go directly to the NBA will soon again have that chance, and the commissioner of the XFL has a similar vision for his new league.
In an interview with the Star-Telegram, XFL commissioner and CEO Oliver Luck said the league, in select cases, will sign players who are recently out of high school.
Every other sport but football has allowed high schoolers to turn pro on some level; the NFL’s rule is a player must be three years removed from high school before he is eligible for the league.
“There is clearly potential to be a disruptor and it’s analogous to what the NCAA is going through with basketball,” Luck said.
Luck said nothing is stopping the XFL from allowing a high school graduate who has not played college ball to play in the league that will begin in the spring of 2020, and feature a team in Arlington.
“The three year eligibility rule is agreed to by the NFL and the NFL Player’s Association. We are not a signatory to that collective bargaining agreement,” Luck said. “The question is what policy would we have? I want to get all of my coaches together and get them in a room and hash through this issue. All of these guys, some more than others, have experience with college football. I want their thoughts on this.
“My thought on this is we will sign some players who are not quite eligible for the NFL. I am sure we will. How many? I can’t tell you. It won’t be 50 percent of our rosters. It won’t be 20 percent. There will be select cases.
“The standard I want to set out with my coaches is if we believe, collectively, that a kid is mentally, physically and mature enough to play against grown men, 25 or 27, then yes. If we don’t think that young man is ready for that, I would say let’s not do that. We would damage that kid’s career.”
With the XFL being a spring league, this would mean the recent high school graduate would not play a fall schedule. He could potentially play two full XFL seasons as essentially his “college career,” that serves as audition for the NFL.
The more likely scenario is the college freshman or sophomore who decides he doesn’t like it, or flunks out, and drops out in favor of the XFL.
“We might find the guy who is in his third year of college, and he plays but he gets hurt in Week 2,” Luck said. “He doesn’t think he has enough film on him, so he could play with us. He drops out of school in the spring, which all of these guys do anyway to get ready for the draft, and he could play 10 games and he has his film.”
The new current spring league, the American Alliance of Football, uses the same eligibility rules as the NFL.
The last person to challenge the NFL on this issue was former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett in 2004. After two seasons at Ohio State, he took his case to the Supreme Court, and ultimately lost.
The NFL’s “concern” is putting an 18-year-old against 28-year-old men in a sport where size and strength are paramount to success.
“The supposition is that the kid coming out of high school is not ready unless he is an Adrian Peterson, Leonard Fournette or Herschel Walker; those guys jump out at you,” Luck said. “Now, you get a kid who plays freshman football and let’s say he flunks out; it happens. We probably would be more flexible with that kid because he has nowhere to go.”
In 1984, when the spring USFL was in its second season, a punter from the University of Arizona sued that league over its eligibility rules, which were essentially the same as the NFL.
Fearing this type of lawsuit, the USFL had agreed to grant an exception or two to players who wanted to leave college early, most notably for Hershel Walker.
A Los Angeles court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and it could have changed eligibility rules in the ‘80s. Because the league lasted only one more year before it folded, altering this long standing standard never happened.
“I am a big believer in college sports and the power of college sports,” Luck said. “I think it’s one of the great institutions in America. I am a believer in the paradigm. My standard response to this is that out of 500,000 student athletes every year, you’re going to have a not insignificant number that don’t feel like they are properly treated. It’s inevitable. It’s like the Army; there are guys who feel like they got the short end. But I do think this is viable.”
This week, Duke forward Zion Williamson sustained a mild knee sprain in a game against North Carolina when his shoe ripped. The immediate howl was that the “1-and-done” rule, which says a player must be one year removed from high school before he can join the NBA, hurts guys like Zion and others who would have made money had they been allowed to go straight to the NBA.
The day after Zion’s Nike went RIP on ESPN, the NBA proposed to the NBA Player’s Association to essentially allow high schoolers to go straight to the pros.
The XFL, in select cases, will soon be such an option for football players.
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