Cameron Kinley arrived at the Naval Academy in 2017 with aspirations to serve his country . At that time, the possibility of being a pro athlete wasn at the top of his mind, but it was a childhood dream.Now that the opportunity has come, it remains uncertain if hel be able to do both. Kinley, who played cornerback at Navy, went undrafted this April but later signed a free-agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 1 after impressing at the team rookie camp. When he returned to Annapolis to attend his graduation in late May, he was under the impression he be leaving the academy to head straight to the NFL. That day, Kinley the president of his class at the academy presented Vice President Kamala Harris with a gift at graduation.Days later, he learned that Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker denied his waiver request that woulde delayed his commission and allowed him to play for the Bucs. Under Harker orders, Kinley is required to begin serving as an ensign. felt like I finally had a sense of knowing what was next in my life , Kinley told Against All Enemies. nd then everything took a turn of events. And now I back at square one.nlike student athletes at other colleges, the possibility of players from the Navy, Army or Air Force academies playing in a professional sports league depends on the current policy. It has changed many times over the past few years, but not since 2019, when former President Trump announced a change that would allow service academy athletes the chance to temporarily forgo their two-year active duty commitment and play professionally.Under this change, several former service academy grads have gone on to various careers in pro sports while serving in reserve status in their respective branch, including Malcon Perry, Elijah Riley, Tucker Bone, Zac McGraw and most recently, Griffin Jax.Philadelphia Eagles safety Marcus Epps and defensive back Elijah Riley celebrate after an interception by Epps in the third quarter of the game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03 , 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty ImagesWhile Trump memo allowed for this policy, each service academy operates differently and the decision to release the players eventually lies with the military branch itself. Ultimately, its up to the secretaries, like Harker, on whether or not to forward requests to the Secretary of Defense.This spring, other Service Academy graduates Army Jon Rhattigan, and Air Force Parker Ferguson, Nolan Laufenberg and George Silvanic had their commissions delayed and were allowed to pursue careers in the NFL.In addition to Kinley, Navy senior pitcher Charlie Connolly request to delay his commissioning was also denied. Connolly, who can consistently throw a 95 mph fastball, struck out 45 batters in 36 innings pitched this season and woulde likely been selected in the upcoming MLB Amateur Draft. Connolly told the Baltimore Sun, guess my baseball career is over for the foreseeable future.ecause there isn uniformity across the branches when it comes to this specific decision, it has left some student athletics like Kinley playing the waiting game at the end of their senior season.t a difficult situation for Cameron,NFL agent Michael De Sane said. e wants to serve his country but playing football at the highest level has been his lifelong dream, and now that it a real possibility it is being stripped from him at the last second. I just don understand why he can do both, serve his country as a reservist while achieving his dreams and bringing good light to the Academy that prepared them to compete at this level, it just sad.e Sane represents Kinley, among other pro athletes, and has been hoping that his story making rounds on social media will encourage more conversation about service academy graduates.
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Navy Cameron Kinley says he in a ray area after being denied NFL dreams
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