I'm glad Greg Oden had that one year of college. It helped him SOOOOOOOOOOOO much.
Actually, the rule wasn't generated based solely on race or NBA vets.
It was for the NBA to market the picks. Hard to get a city hyped about a HS kid not named LeBron James but if he got to play for a NCAA team for a year and get the college-story stereotype its easier to market him to the public when he's growing just as much (if not more) as a player with the NBA on the bench making millions.
That's where the race comes in. Americans as a whole can't stand to see young black athletes immediately guaranteed millions in a perceived "thug" sport, despite how its worse in other American mainstream sports.
It's also why the league has gotten so T happy - Stern trying to prevent another brawl, even though NFL and MLB fight all the time without the stigma the NBA has.
I'm glad Greg Oden had that one year of college. It helped him SOOOOOOOOOOOO much.
Of course , I was going to make mention of the NCAA farm system . I was just trying to point out that the argument for allowing 18 year olds in regards to being ready, developed ect. would be greatly enhanced by a team run minor league sytem. I know the Spurs own the Toros and I thought the lakers owned theirs too.
Destro and 2Cleva, can you cite sources of info to back up your claims?
I remember specifically back in 2005, where the players union pushed for this rule to take place.
http://nationalbasketblog.com/2009/0...-limit-debate/
First off, let’s not allow David Stern to shoulder all the blame for the age limit rule. This was voted on and put into place by the NBPA which is the union comprised of active, veteran NBA players.
Just to let all know that I came in to sit in the AC and take a break from my outdoor labors. I enjoyed the range of views and the very good information that was brought out here. I think I would be more comfortable with some of the posters here bringing their views , logic, debating skills to our government and replace the clowns that pose as our leaders. To all a good day.
so should someone under the age of 21 be able to work on a strip bar joint and be a bartender
congress neeed to worry about our debt not the nba
As long as its a venue that doesn't serve alcohol.
Although the original poster was being sarcastic aboutt his idea... the requirement of an associates degree is good. I actually like that idea. Make them prove they can actually pass freshman comp 1 and 2, and then college algebra.
As it is I think they should ins ute a 21 and up rule on the NBA. Then people who get out of high-school and finish a 2 year degree can then go and play in the d-league, sign an exclusive rights deal start making money at 18-19, and develop their skills and be ready to go into NBA Draft.
EDIT: Oh and congress needs to shut the up and pay attention to the multiple trillions of dollars we owe china, the ty economy, the ty education system, the soon to be ty government run health care system, and stay the out of sports.
Sports never has and never will need the government to 'help' them. So shut up and sit down idiot congress people.
In Texas you can be a bartender under the age of 21, just not under the age of 18.
EDIT: And you can be a stripper at 18 too.
EDIT EDIT: And make pornos.
How about a 21 & up rule in tennis? In gymnastics? In golf? In working period?
I also specifically remember 2Cleva's point about Stern wanting to have marketable players' names being built up in college programs.The players' union has made a lot of bad concessions to Stern in the past 10 years, all starting from the flack they caught in the 99 lockout from people and the media who judged all the players as spoiled and greedy and somehow looked past the owners.
Don't you have to be at least 35 years old to be President of the USA?
Guess he should complain about those too.
Every job has minimum requirements. The NBA has their own.
The question is, can a job stipulate job requirements based on age? Just because a job has that requirement, doesn't mean that someone can not challenge it in the court of law.
Updated.
Congressman urges NBA to drop age minimum
By Frederic J. Frommer
A lawmaker urged the National Basketball Association Wednesday to repeal its requirement that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league, calling the restriction unfair.
Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., sent identical letters to NBA commissioner David Stern and union leader Billy Hunter, asking that they scrap the requirement in the next collective bargaining agreement.
Cohen, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, called the requirement “an unfair restriction on the rights of these young men to pursue their intended career.”
In an e-mail, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said, “We are looking forward to receiving, reviewing and responding to the congressman’s letter, as we always do.” The players union did not respond to requests for comment.
Stern said last month he wouldn’t mind if the new agreement pushed the minimum age to 20—although he was happy the way the current rule was working. The current agreement runs through 2011.
In a telephone interview, Cohen told The Associated Press that he’d consider both hearings and legislation if the requirement remains.
“I don’t think it makes any sense. It didn’t hurt Al Kaline to go straight to the Detroit Tigers,” he said, referring to the slugger who broke into baseball at age 18. Cohen noted that athletes in other sports, such as baseball, tennis and golf, don’t face such a restriction.
In the letter, Cohen said the requirement “does far more to serve the financial interests of the universities at which the students play than the educational interests of the students themselves.”
He suggested that the policy might have contributed to scandals involving players in his city of Memphis, citing former University of Memphis star Derrick Rose and current Memphis Grizzlies player O.J. Mayo.
Rose, who led the Chicago Bulls to the playoffs and won the Rookie of the Year this season, has come under a cloud cast by an NCAA investigation of major violations at Memphis during the only season he played there.
Mayo played for one season at the University of Southern California and finished runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award this season. Louis Johnson, a former associate of Mayo’s, has told federal and NCAA investigators that Floyd gave $1,000 in cash to a man who helped steer the star player to the Trojans, according to Johnson’s attorney, Anthony V. Salerno.
The letters were first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
Don't we have bigger issues for Congress to fix?
We are making the same point, the players pushed for the rule too.
If all 18 y/o NBA players looked like this guy, maybe Obama would step in.
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