Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 10:16 am  |  118 responses

Congressman to NBA: Rescind Age Minimum

by Ryne Nelson

Tennessee representative Steve Cohen has written a letter to the NBA and the player’s union, asking the League to scrap the 19-year-old age minimum requirement in the next CBA. The letter, sent to the Commish David Stern and player’s association Director Billy Hunter, argues the age minimum has contributed to the recent bevy of college recruiting scandals and is a detriment to many young player’s careers.

“I am writing to express my deep concern over the policy of the National Basketball Association (NBA) to bar athletes from playing in the league on the basis of their age.

The “19 plus 1” policy, which requires American players to be at least 19 years of age and one year removed from their high school graduating class, is an unfair restriction on the rights of these young men to pursue their intended career. I also believe that it has played an important role in several recent scandals involving college students who were prevented from entering the NBA upon high school graduation.

I ask that this policy be repealed when the NBA completes its new collective bargaining agreement with the NBA Player’s Association.”

To read Cohen’s full letter, click here. In a follow-up interview, Cohen went so far as to call the rule a “vestige of slavery” and “restraint on a person’s freedoms and liberties.”

Stern has taken a opposite stance, however, saying he would support an increase in the minimum to 20 years of age. For every Garnett, Bryant, James, Stoudemire and Howard, said the commissioner, are five others who tried to make the jump early and never made it.

There are currently three options for players with pro aspirations after high school: 1) College, 2) D-League and 3) Europe/other foreign professional league. Stern feels like the D-League and Europe are more than viable options for young players who cannot (or choose not to) play in college.

Stern is wrong in many respects. The D-League’s competition and salaries are nothing compared to even those in Europe, making it a terrible option for the prodigiously talented 18 year olds. In Europe players can get paid (if they’re lucky) and possibly sign small endorsement deals. Is the culture shock and inconsistent roles on these foreign rosters giving players a chance to best showcase their talent? Not in Brandon Jennings’ case.

Imagine if Derrick Rose or O.J. Mayo went straight to the League out of high school. Sure, they may have fallen out of the 2007 Lottery, but would all this mess have been necessary? C’mon, commish. Develop the D-League into a viable minor league or listen to the Congressman.

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  • http://nbacheapseats.blogspot.com Chendaddy

    There will be recruiting scandals in the NCAA regardless of whether there is an age limit or not. The only difference is whether people will be taking Corey Brewer’s or Derrick Rose’s SAT’s. So you can throw that argument right out the window.
    Second, if David Stern is truly concerned about the maturity and image of these boys, letting them spend a year or so being king of the campus at a D-I school will certainly not do that for them. Take a look at Mike Beasley, Mario Charmers, and Darrell Arthur at last year’s rookie camp for proof of that.
    If he really wants to guide these kids, he should be forcing owners to provide counselors and advisors for every player on their teams. Then make sessions with them mandatory. I never understood how a corporation could invest tens of millions of dollars in an individual and then not make sure the smartest and most disciplined people are around to help them as much as possible.
    Finally, this last point will make me very unpopular, but I feel strongly about it. The D-League has the potential to become a viable minor league, but it can never be looked upon as the second-best option to the NBA when European teams are paying much bigger salaries for players to play in much better places than Tulsa or Idaho. You think a young black athlete going to Rome is culture shock, but going to Idaho isn’t?
    There is a way to fund the D-League to be competitive with the Euro leagues. There is a certain organization that hemorrhages money like crazy every year and annually needs a $6-8 million infusion from the NBA just to stay upright. It was an admirable attempt at being socially conscientious, but it’s time to admit there is no market for this product and use the costs of maintaining it go to improving a product that works.
    It is time to can the WNBA and pour that money into developing the D-League.

  • Dre

    Would he write a letter to any other Fortune 500 company and tell them to take the requirements off of the positions the hold in their company? A company has a write to put whatever requirement they feel they need on a position in their company to get the best candidate for the job. Did he write to football with the same letter… look at part of the Maurice Clarrett mess. I am an ex-american player… we just need to step up the game and the grades. If someone was trying to be an engineer, no one would be fussing at engineering companies for any adjustments they make for a more experienced worker. It’s a job… treat it like one.

  • Eric

    “for every Garnett,Bryant,Stoudimire and Howard, said the commissioner,are five others who tried to make the jump early and never made it” Okay, for every Tim Duncan there’s a host of other college players who don’t make it. Stern’s reasoning is absurd and that’s why it’s so easy for people to turn this into a race issue. Stern doesn’t want 18 year olds because he doesn’t want to pay 2 or three big contracts to these players. It’s all about money. The older the players are when they come in, the less they will be paid over the long haul. And since when did going to college mature anyone? If anything going to college retards that journey. People mature when they take responsibility for their lives, not after receiving a piece of paper from one of the diploma mills. Stern needs to stop sucking up to the prols with all their silly notions about the value of higher learning and admit that it would be a problem,if it isn’t already to the finacial health of the league to have alot of young players in the league that could hit the teams up 1 or 2 100 million dollar contracts.

  • DW24

    Ciolk: It seems like you’re just trying to blow this all out of proportion with race. I hate when people bring race in because we’re all American. Ok maybe not tons of white kids are coming out of High School to play but that doesn’t make the rule racist. In all reality people are tired of seeing these kids get so hyped and everyones buying into it and then they don’t pan out and they don’t go back to college and they ruin their life. Yes there’s tons of flaws with this rule but still in all reality it helps. In the past 2 drafts name some lottery players who haven’t panned out cuz for the most part they all have been successful thanks to maturing in college. And lets be honest as basketball fans its fun to have the NBA Finals AND an ultra competitive NCAA Tournament. It makes everything so much better.

  • http://mindyourbusiness@nosybutt.com Allenp

    Dre
    Fortune 500 companies are subject to anti-trust laws.
    None of the professional sports leagues deal with the same scrutiny. If professional sports leagues want to be seen as regular corporations, they need to be subject to the same regulations as those companies. If they want to have special treatment, then people can hold them to a different standard.
    It’s a simple fix.

  • http://www.michaelcho.com M Cho

    I always thought this age restriction was racist. Other sports let players be drafted right out of high-school. The implication here is that somehow NBA ballers (read: young african amercians) don’t know what’s best for them. Well, the point of american society is that they got the freedom to decide that sh!t for themselves. Whether they make good choices or bad ones, they have that right. College is an option for ballers, just like it is for everyone else.

  • http://whatdoesnthaveanageminimun.com nbk

    because politics don’t have any age minimums…….. or how about gambling……or drinking…….the only thing that is not strict on age is the military. Which your still supposed to be 18 for, but the point is, there are more pressing age restrictions for a congressman to focus on.

  • cool j

    Just to be clear no one has a right to play in the NBA.As an association they have the right let in who them want and when …
    For those claiming “racism” and all upset by this rule.I just wish all of you were as angry about the state of education in the black community,the drop-out rate etc…

  • http://mindyourbusiness@nosybutt.com Allenp

    Cool J
    So, you’re assuming that folks who are upset about the age minimum can’t be upset about all those other things?
    Way to make a helluva an assumption Captain.
    Oh yeah, where the hell did you get that “association” point from? What does the work “association” have to do with discrimination?
    The NBA is a business. The players are employees. The NBA has established an arbitrary age limit on the employees it hires. That’s within its rights as a company. But let’s not pretend that means it’s not discriminatory.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    It’s almost like you people have been listening to me.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    LMFAO @ the guy way above, who made an argument that the NBA would be protected from “Kwame Browns”. What do you call BJ Mullens?

  • Saku 39

    BJ Mullens may have been a top ten pick in last year’s draft. This year he might get drafted in the second round. Like what happened to Deandre Jordan.

    I don’t like Stern but I’m okay with the age-rule; he just wants to make sure players are really as good as advertised.

  • K

    Riiight, going to college really helped Michael Olowakandi develop his game. The busts are going to keep coming, regardless of any BS age limit. I like the idea of developing the D-League into a legit minor league though; I think that would be a good middle ground for the NBA to stand on. The NBA could also ensure that all young rookies have sufficient financial counseling.

  • http://http//www.youtube.com The Promise

    @Justin Walsh: Thanks for the complement. I have my opinions on the game, and I will always stick with them. I’m not a conspiracy kind ofperson, as many of you on this site are. And, I still feel like if a high school kid, black, white, yellow, red, whatever, he should get his opportunity to go pro. Its good for the NBA as well as it is for collge and their coaches. And, K has a point in the post above mine. There are players who are going to be busts, and college is not going to help them. Some guys have it in college, but their game does not transition to the League. This will always happen. You cannot get around it. There will always be a Kwame Brown or a Michael Olawakandi. Sometimes you strike gold with these kids, sometimes you fall flat on your face. Thats why we have the Draft, to have the opportunity to hit or miss on a player. I’m just not a fan of the age limit, never have been, and never will be. It should be the kid’s choice when he goes pro, not the NBA.

  • Justin

    I like the age rule simply because there are too many young cats who have entered the NBA who are athletic as hell but have no game. The NBA is fun to watch, but look how (*#*^ boring each possession is. Same old thing.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    Co-sign the Promise.

  • http://weezyleezy337@aol.com Weezy F. Baby

    unless u want the next possible lebron james playing in europe let them play here. its tru baseball players…tennis players..anybody who wanna go pro..dont always need college. college is good but u cant discriminate..why nba gotta make them be 19..really?????

  • Steve

    The Promise – you are missing the point. NBA isn’t trying to help the players, it is trying to save the owners from themselves!

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