Nba One and Done Rule

Austin Fritz
English 102
Soren Palmer
4/21/10

NBA One and Done Rule
The foundation of our country has always been based on the ideology of freedom.   Many people consider America to be the land of opportunity and one of the few countries where one can go from “rags to riches.” For many young American athletes, basketball is their opportunity to make a living. Many of the best players in the National Basketball Association, like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, were able to pursue their dream of playing professional basketball when they were drafted right out of high school. However, in 2006, the NBA took that dream away from many high school basketball players when they adopted rule where players had to be at least 19 years of age and one year removed from high school to be eligible for the NBA draft.   Not only is this new policy extremely unfair to the players, but it also has had negative effects on many of the universities that these players that attend. The NBA’s new rule is an infringement on their freedom of choice and denies these young players the opportunity to make a living.  
The NBA’s one and done rule limits the options of the high school basketball recruits and prevents them from making their own decisions for the future. These young athletes are being denied the right to accept a job and make money. After all, the NBA is nothing more than a job. They are mature enough to risk their lives fighting for their country in the military, but not mature enough to play professional basketball for their country. It makes no sense. Instead, the high school recruits have no choice, but to attend one year of college almost against his will. The whole purpose of college is to put the high school student in the position to get a good job, preferably the job of their dreams. The NBA has to be the only job in the world where high school recruits are encouraged to be college dropouts.
Now that these players are essentially being forced to attend college, they go...