In just a few short weeks the NFL will conduct its annual draft, with the understanding that a player is not eligible to be drafted if he is not three years removed from his high school graduating class, thus making a general age limit for players entering the league.
Conversely, professional basketball lacks an age limit. Presently, players can forego college and jump straight into the league. This topic was brought to light recently as NBA commissioner David Stern proposed that a player must be 20-years old or older in order to be eligible to play basketball in the NBA.
Indiana Pacers center Jermaine O'Neal, who was selected by the Portland Trailblazers with the 17th overall pick when he was only 18-years-old, has recently dubbed the proposed rule as racist and argues that it would only hold black players (76 percent of the league last year was black) from creating a living for themselves and that Stern is only trying to protect the white players in the league.
O'Neal is undoubtedly one of the more qualified players to speak on this matter, having gone through this process first-hand. But his argument is merely partially correct.
An age limit would discriminate against young players, but in no way would it target a specific race. It is clear that right now the early entrants on the draft that would have been affected were for a large part black. In recent years, European players have been entering the league who also would not meet the age requirement and I fail to see where the issue of race is relevant in this situation.
O'Neal is correct on some counts in this situation, though, and I believe his argument would have been stronger if he would have included that this decision is being pushed by the NBA Players' Association. Their main goal is to ensure their veteran players a roster spot rather than being forced out of the league by a high schooler who will take three years to develop on the bench.
The bottom line here is money. Stern is not concerned with the quality of the game, nor is he worried that the talent pool is being diluted by younger players or that the college game is suffering because players are leaving early. He is consumed with the money aspect here and keeping the veteran players in his business happy.
I personally would like to see an age limit set in the NBA, for the lone reason being that I prefer the college game and would love to see players required to play collegiate basketball even for a short time. Either way, the NCAA has proven that it can succeed even when the upper-level talent bolts for the bigger bucks.
The NBA doesn't have the same appeal that it used to have as the game is quickly becoming more a business that a sport. It was proven again recently that the best basketball is played in March, and that had nothing to do with the Kobe v. Shaq saga or the politics of the NBA.
So in the defense of the commissioner, I really don't think his motivation to create an age limit is racially driven. At the end of the day, a black player and a white player are only judged by one thing: how much green they can produce for Stern's company.
Jon is junior majoring in English and journalism. Do you think David Stern is greedy? Let Jon know at jrmcnamara@wisc.edu.
