A little late posting this, but Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen has sent a letter to NBA commissioner David Stern and NBA Player’s Union director Billy Hunter asking them to revisit the league’s current age restriction in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement:
Cohen said that one of his primary arguments against the rule, which is part of the collective bargaining agreement between the league and union, was that soldiers can fight for their country at age 18 but not play in the N.B.A. He also said noted that predominantly white sports like hockey, baseball and golf lack similar restrictions.
“There’s something wrong with keeping kids, who are more likely to be African-American than not, from playing professional basketball and football when they can help their families and communities immediately,” Cohen said. “They’re forced to go to school when they have no desire or interest in going to school.”
My basic reaction: I think Cohen is certainly correct about the age restriction, though some of his rhetoric (the “slavery” reference) is overheated, or at least imprecise — there’s certainly a plantation metaphor to be made here, but you need to be careful with it. Beyond that, though, I don’t see this as an issue that exactly warrants congressional intervention.
