Last year, the Department of Defense decided to allow athletes from the military service academies – such as Navy QB Keenan Reynolds – to defer the active duty obligations that they have in exchange for their time in school. That way, Reynolds could still get drafted and play for the Ravens, putting in his time for the Navy in the offseason as a reserve, rather than serving for two years right after graduation.
That policy has now been reversed, as reported by Will Hobson of the Washington Post. Players have to serve their time in the military before they can go pro.
Since Reynolds is already with the Ravens, some wondered if he’d now have to leave and join the Navy. That would derail his football career and also cost the Ravens a draft pick, which they used with the expectation that he could play. However, it doesn’t look like that will be a problem. As NBC’s Pro Football Talk noted on Twitter:
“According to a DOD spokesman the policy change requiring two years of active duty does not apply retroactively to Ravens WR Keenan Reynolds.”
In justifying the change in policy, per Hobson, Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana White said:
“Our military academies exist to develop future officers who enhance the readiness and the lethality of our military services. Graduates enjoy the extraordinary benefit of a military academy education at taxpayer expense. Therefore, upon graduation, officers will serve as military officers for their minimum commitment of two years. The department has a long history of officer athletes who served their nation before going to the pros including Roger Staubach, Chad Hennings and David Robinson.”
