Interesting story. While I like the rule, and think it is for the good of the league - I can understand the Cohen stance. Discuss. http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/60689/20090720/nba_defends_age_limit_to_congress/ [I]The NBA has defended its age limit to Congress, but a lawmaker was unmoved and is asking to meet with top league officials. The rule states that players be at least 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the league. In June, Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., urged the NBA and the player's union to scrap the requirement in the next collective bargaining agreement, calling it unfair. NBA president Joel Litvin told Cohen in a letter recently that the requirement promotes the league's business interests by "increasing the chances that incoming players will have the requisite ability, experience, maturity and life skills" to perform at a high level. Cohen maintains that players should have "economic freedom" and that the "age discrimination" prevents players from supporting their families.[/I]
It really is unfair. Violinists, pianists, painters, surfers and bikers don't have age limits. Hell, fund managers, rocket scientists and even Mensa members don't need age limits. Why the heck would bball players be denied an option to make money for their families? If you're not good enough you won't be drafted. Its really that simple.
I do see your point but think of it this way, what if one of those high school prospects has a career ending injury? They will have NOTHING to fall back on and the only thing they have is their high school diploma. This rule is kind of showing that there is more to life than just basketball.
But most of the players making the jump straghit to the nba are most likely one and done players anyways, so how much does that one year in college help them when in fact they don't want to be there at all?
Didn't the supreme court rule in favor of the NFL with their age limit? Why does the NBA not get that? There have been way more youngsters who have failed than succeeded. Giving NBA scouts a chance to evaluate them at a higher level of play (be it college or Europe) would probably be best. Its not like those HSers cant earn money playing basketball. They can go to the NBADL or Europe.
Being a Mensa member means you've accomplished something that makes you noteworthy, but you don't need to accomplish anything to join the NBA. All you need to do is impress an NBA scout. you're comparing apples to oranges here. if a player really wanted to make money for his family as quickly as possible, he'd go make money in Europe for a year.
A High school basketball stud has to wait til he's 19 to go to the NBA, cause Stern says it will let him mature some. A Football player can't go the the NFL til he's 21, cause they think he will hurt himself by leaving college early. But yet a 17 year old can join the army, go to war and possiably die. Yeah, it makes alot of sense.
We're not talking about NBA productivity here, we're talking about your right to get paid. I imagine impressing an NBA scout is something noteworthy, or are you saying somebody like Lebron James is not a prodigy just because he doesn't ponder the origin of blackholes like hawkwing? This issue is just not about the state of the NBA, its about having the right to employment taken away from you. Why are you allowed to play pro ball in Europe and the NBDL, but you can't in the NBA? Is that equality? I find it ludicrous that you can't be employed in the country that supposedly advocates freedom and meritocracy the most.
The idea is that players should think long-term. NBA aspirations aren't the most secure goals; might as well learn some other skills or get a degree to fall back on before you go gambling with your life. The military is serious business, but it does teach you a lot about yourself and how to support yourself. I guess I'm in the camp that doesn't have a lot of faith in the decision-making abilities of a star-struck 18 year old.
Why is this even an argument? This is a private organization right? Are they getting federal funding or something? I can't see any other reason for the government to be in their business.
They are not taking away their right to be employed, they are taking away the right to be employed in the NBA below a certain age. I don't see your point as to how it is going against American ideals to set standards for employment. Most high paying jobs require college degrees or professional experience, you rarely see somebody getting millions of dollars per year (working for somebody else) based on potential they showed in high school. Why should the NBA be any different? Every job has qualifications required of their potential employees. It is obvious that not everybody is mature enough to play in the NBA. They used to allow HS grads into the draft and for every one that was successful, there were probably 10-20 who were not (even some of the successful ones took a few years to develop). The age limit forces these players to either go to college (which a high majority have been) or go to another professional league (so far only two high profile players have done that, one of which ended up being a top 10 pick). It also gives NBA scouts a chance to fully evaluate potential draftees against a level of competition higher than high school basketball. Giving a chance for scouts to fully evaluate which players are qualified and which are not. Why can 18 year olds play in Europe? Because European basketball does not have an age limit, period. Ricky Rubio has been playing professionally in Europe since the age of 14. I don't think any of us wants to see early-teens or pre-teens playing in the NBA (as obviously it takes a level of maturity to play a role in this league)
Most aspiring NBA players don't even get drafted. The ones that gave up school are probably on the streets. There are guys who never made the NBA that working as athletic trainers, head coaches, assistants, nutritionists, back office, etc. You would be surprised how many of these guys wanted to play in the NBA, but couldn't make it.
Exactly, there are many more failures than successes. The NBDL has a league of players that didn't make it. They just end up being a playground legend living the life of poverty.
You want the job, to play in the NBA, you do whatever the requirements are to get that job, if being 19 and a year out of high school is something the NBA requires, then deal with it.
Congress should stick there nose somewhere else instead of basketball. they have bigger problems to worry about. If the PRESIDENT has to be a certain age i think it is ok for basketball to be a certain age.
This is a bad argument. The prospect will be playing basketball in that year as an amateur or minor league pro anyway, and could still have a career-ending injury. The difference is that, without the age limit, he could have already gotten an NBA contract and had some real cash flow he could then use to fund his training for some other profession. With the age limit, he has no money to make a transition (nor NBA doctors to make sure he has the best treatment for that injury), and he has likely already sacrificed his other options to some degree to pursue his basketball profession. I don't believe one can credibly argue that this rule makes life better for the high school prospect. It's there to protect teams from themselves, that's all.
