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U. S. Navy Denies Bucs’ Free Agent To Delay Commission Service
For Tampa Bay Bucca- neers free agent Cameron Kinley, his dream of playing professional football was cut short, or at least put on hold.
Kinley was excited to pur- sue his career not only with the NFL but also with the U. S. Navy. However, those dreams of being a professional football player will have to wait after Kinley’s request to have his commission delayed was de- nied by the Navy.
Kinley graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy two weeks ago. He was president of his graduating class and the first athlete to have that title since 1991. Being in the Navy and serving his country is a dream that Kinley has had for a long time. But his graduation day was preceded by news that dreams of an NFL career would have to be shelved while he served his five-year service
commitment.
Captain J. Dorsey with
the U.S. Navy told FOX 13 that the Naval Academy is an "ex- tensive and competitive process," and there is an un- derstanding that students will be commissioned after gradu- ation.
"The mission of the Naval Academy is to develop young men and women to commis- sion as officers in the Navy or Marine Corps. When students accept admission and continue their education in this pro- gram, there is an understand- ing and acknowledgment that they will upon graduation be commissioned," he said in a statement.
"Every Midshipman at- tends on the same terms and each has the same responsibil- ity to serve. Exceptions to that commitment to serve have been rightfully rare."
CAMERON KINLEY
"Following discussions with senior Department of Navy leadership and in accor- dance with existing Depart- ment of Defense policy, acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker, de- clined to forward requests from recent Naval Academy graduates to the Secretary of Defense, seeking to delay their commissions," he added.
Kinley had signed a free- agent contract with the Bucs and had played well during a rookie minicamp, leading him to put in a request to have his commission delayed. This is a common request for athletes to make so that they can pur- sue a career in professional sports. However, Kinley’s re- quest was denied with no way to appeal the decision.
In a statement to FOX 13, the Bucs organization said:
"Cameron Kinley is an exceptional young man and a shining example of the type of high-character individuals that make our nation’s mili- tary the most elite in the world. We appreciate and sup- port the United States Naval Academy’s position with re- gards to Cameron’s fulfill- ment of his post-graduate service commitment and re- main hopeful that he will one
day have an opportunity to also fulfill his dreams of play- ing professional football."
In a statement that Kinley posted to Twitter, he said that it’s been difficult and emo- tional to be this close to fulfill- ing a childhood dream only to have it taken away.
He said in part that he is aware of the commitment he made to the Navy and he looks forward to that career, but he added that he believes he is deserving of the opportunity to fulfill another one of his life- long dreams before fulfilling his service requirement.
In his statement, Kinley stated that four other NFL players were granted the abil- ity to delay their commission in order to play for various teams this fall. While they are with other branches, Kinley was the only one whose re- quest was denied.
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