http://sports.excite.com/news/04122005/v4959.html

Indiana center Jermaine O'Neal said the NBA's desire to put an age limit in the next collective bargaining agreement could be driven by racism.

"In the last two or three years, the rookie of the year has a been a high school player. There were seven high school players in the All-Star game, so why we even talking an age limit?" said O'Neal, who was drafted out of high school in 1996 by the Portland Trail Blazers.

"As a black guy, you kind of think that's the reason why it's coming up. You don't hear about it in baseball or hockey. To say you have to be 20, 21 to get in the league, it's unconstitutional. If I can go to the U.S. army and fight the war at 18, why can't you play basketball for 48 minutes?"

The NBA's seven-year labor agreement expires after the season and NBA commissioner David Stern has asked for a 20-year-old age limit in the next deal, with incentives provided to players who defer their draft eligibility to stay in college. The union originally opposed raising the current age limit of 18, but has begun to waver.

Cleveland's LeBron James won the rookie of the year award last season, and Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire took home the honor for the 2002-03 season. Both were drafted out of high school.

I heard this being discussed by Mike & Mike on my way in to work this morning, & i think it's ridiculous how anyone could associate race w/having anything to do with the policy change proposal to change the age limit to play in the NBA...the NFL has a stricter policy than what's being proposed here, but you don't hear anyone calling that racism...

everything else that J.O. said though, i completely agree with...it is unconstitutional to prevent anyone from earning a living after they've reached legal age...it's up to the teams & the player to make the decision on whether or not to take the risk to enter the draft early.

they should allow these kids to enter the draft & sign contracts w/NBA teams out of HS if they so choose, & implement that NBDL system so that the teams can utilize that resource as a means to develop these kids instead of having them struggle their 1st few years, or even worse waste away on the bench & not get any playing time...this way, the ones that are more NBA ready coming out of HS like the Lebron's, Amare's, the Dwight Howard's, etc. can still become stars in the NBA & not be held back by that age limit requirement.

I think he calls it like he sees it. There arent many (Robert Swift is the only I can think of) white HS kids that declare. So what group of people are they trying to keep out? Young black teenagers basicly. Now, is it because they are black or just young? Personally I think they are doing it for a few reasons. Players will be easier to market and easier to scout. Players will be easier to manage. More jobs for veteran players. Its about the league image also.

I understand all this, but dont agree. I think the onus should rest on the players and the teams that draft. Kids like Omar Cook and Jackie Butler should listen more to NBA scouts and less to agents. I cant really agree to the physical aspect either... The "NBA body" is in the eye of the beholder, and every year someone with a non conventional build has an impact on the game.

I think what JO is saying is a fair thing to bring up, and the NBA better be VERY clear on what exactly it is they are tryin to keep out of the NBA.

I don't think that O'neal is seeing the other side to the arguement. He mentioned all of the players that made the NBA big out of high school.

How many players came out of high school and didn't make the NBA, had no chance at college and went on to do nothing? You could say Stern is helping those guys out, and given the overall breakdown of the highschoolers, most are african american.

Race is always going to be a huge topic of discussion, and he brings up the valid points about war and serving your country, but high school kids dilute the game, cost people their jobs, and the level of responsibility which i'm sorry to say a lot of these kids don't have because they grow up in single parent households stunts their growth......a lot of them could use college they get a free education, money on the side and are treated like royalty...it would serve them good.......So they don't recklessly go out make bad decisions, and keep themselves out of bad situations.....

That said college basketball are the real criminals and they are the ones that will benefit from these kids that can't go to the league, and as they do every year with their bull **** rules (that Duke, UNC, and all the power houses violate on a yearly basis but never get convicted of) penalize some kid and ruin his reputation as well as the schools reputation while they make billions

the difference is the Euro players are already pros with pro contracts. They enter this draft to make more money. If Jermaine lived in Spain he would have signed an 8 year deal when he was 15 or 16.

Again... I dont think its about race, but I see his question as this: What group of people are you trying to eliminate by creating an age limit?

The thing is for the Lebrons and Amare's of the world what will happen is they will go and play overseas for a couple years. This isnt going to force them to play college ball. Dont you think Real Madrid or one of these teams with $$$ would pay a guy like Melo or Lebron $2-$3mm Euros to play for 2-3 years?

While I understand all the logic I have a hard time seeing the results.

Jermaine makes a great point. But there's really no way of knowing if their is a racist reason for this. Let's hope that there's not.

this is a tough topic, and although i see where jermain was comming from, I don't agree that there were racist motives behind the decision. I know I went to college and graduated and then attended grad school and it was a great experience for me, one that will benefit me for a life time. I also know that college may not be for everyone, but neither is making the jump from HS to the pros either. Now I know there are some guys who are ready, guys like Lebron was, Kobe, T-mac, and garnett all have had great success, but just look at all of the failures. If these kids want to play pro ball, then go to europe or the NBDL until they are 20 and enter the draft afterwards... I think this rule will help more than it hurts and in the long run will be better for the game, and for the NBA that is what matters and for me a big fan of the NBA, that matters a lot to me also...

I just wish these kids get better advice, really good advice, once the ball stops bouncing and they have to make a living outside of basketball I would love to see these kid have some real choices because they made good choices when they were younger. I addressed this before, I looked at guys like Monta Ellis and louis williams and listening to these guys speak I wondered how they ever made it out of 10th grade english. Now I hate to judge these guys this way, but listening to the other guys, the guys going to college who want to be student athletes first, it was a huge difference, and that to me makes a big difference, Just listen to guys like Kobe, lebron, jason kidd, look how well they speak, how they carry themselves, to me that goes a long way, not only on the court but in life. I am not saying these guys are angels, but they are well educated enough to have success after basketball. Now we know that kobe and lebron did not go to college but again,they are the exception, not the rule, I think the 20year age rule will help a lot of players, if anything, by time they go to the pros they are, hopefully a little more prepared and polish for the grind of the NBA life...

Posted by TMS:

the NBA isn't socially responsible for these kids on what they choose to do w/their lives...the NBA has a responsibility to their fans to put the best talent on the court & give them the most entertaining product...the thought of delaying the Lebron James's, Amare Stoudamire's & Dwight Howard's of the world for 2 years just so the Omar Cook's & Jackie Butler's can experience college life & grow up a little is not justifiable...let the kids decide if they want to go to college or not...there are kids all over America who can't afford to even go to college & can't get scholarships either because they're not athletic freaks like some of these kids are...do you hear anyone crying racism over that? i'm sure alot of them would benefit from the college experience too, but they end up going into the military or joining the workforce instead like everyone else.

that is a very good post, again this is a tough topic. I think if the league feels that having a age limit will better the league then I am all for it. I will say this, that the quality of basketball has gone down, and should the NBA be a place to groom HS kids to play ball, or should that be a job for college, and the NBDL?

I think the age limit thing is just dumb. It doesnt really help the league, because what does it matter is some HS kid declares and is a bust? The 15 man on the roster gets cut? Big reaking deal.

On the other hand, look at most of the top 5 players in the league. Lebron, Garnett, Kobe, Tmac, Amare, they are all from HS. It is a fact of life, the best players do not need college.

If anything, the limit helps the union, as it keeps more jobs for the aged scrubs like Eddie Gill, Rick Brunson, Bruno Sundov, etc, who also take up the last roster spot, while doing nothing.

I'd rather some HS with potential got the chance then have some total scrub on your payroll that should not even be in the league.

The limit also helps the college Rubber Barrons who want to talent to exploit on their way to billions of dollars they make of the "student athletes", who get just a scholarship for their game.

How does it make sense for Lebron to make the NCAA the same money he makes the NBa while gettin paid a scholarhsip instead of the millins of dollars in endorsments he is gettin now.

This is all about money, and how big business like the NCAA want to further explit the athletes. And it does prolly has something to do with race, cause most of the layers are black, and almost all of the good players are def black, and the good white ones are Euros. There are like 2 good American white playes in the league.

And btw, the so called value of college education is total myth, college is great, you get to party a lot and all that, prolly the most fun you'll ever have in you life (unless you are bball player or some kind of entertainer), but the rest of it is all bs.

Most people never end up using what they learn in school in their jobs, and all the elective crap is just a waste of time. If somebody wants be well rounded they shoudl just pick up a book and read it, cause classes never really teach you anything, its all a bunch of crammin the night before the exam, and then you forget it all the next day.

It's just a great marketing slogan, oh man, college education has not price, yeah it does, it costs anywhere from 8000 to 40000+ a year.

I was thinking of like KVH, Brad Miller, Jayson Williams, and I can't really think of any more of the top of my head, oh Murphy, but that's about it. Notice how non of them are stars really.