Wide receiver Jalen Robinette may catch a break in his desire to play in NFL.
Agent working on two possibilities to help him
Jalen Robinette’s path to the NFL hit a speed bump, but his opportunity to turn pro after graduation hasn’t been lost just yet.
TheAir Force receiver, whowas denied immediate entry to the pros and went undrafted lastweekend as a result of a newU.S. Department of Defense policy, still has options that his agent, David Lisko, is fighting for.
The battle to get Robinette to the pros in the wake of the policy shift is two-pronged. As Robinette continues to train in an effort to secure an NFL contract, Lisko has been working diligently behind the scenes to effect broader change at the highest levels. As a litigation attorney with Holland & Knight, one of the nation’s top lawfirms, Lisko has a reach that extends to policymakers in Washington, D.C., who have deep ties to the Trump administration and U.S. representatives who have the power to alter the rule or to reconsider Robinette’s case. Members of congressional delegations from Ohio and Colorado are also opening inquiries into the matter.
Among the possibilities:
• Get Robinette grandfathered in to the old DOD policy signed in 2016 that created a path for service-academy grads to go pro.
• Request that the new order, signed by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis last month, include an effective date that allows Robinette and athletes from the class of 2017 to graduate and go pro immediately and, instead, takes hold for the class of 2018.
Robinette, the highest-rated NFL prospect out of the service academies this year, was projected to be selected on the last day of the draft, in the final four rounds. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound receiver topped Air Force’s record books, participated in the NFL scouting combine and spent a year preparing for dual futures as an Air Force grad and professional athlete. Robinette neverwanted to get out of serving — and still doesn’t. He was told he could do both.
Such an opportunitywas made possible by the May 5, 2016, memo signed by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Todd A. Weiler that created a pathway for cadet and midshipmen athletes to apply for Ready Reserve status and waive their required two years of active duty. The requests had to be approved by department secretaries and were contingent on the athletes being offered a contract in the pros.
But on the first day of the 2017 NFL draft, the Air Force Academy received word that the Air Force would not approve any requests, out of anticipation of a new order from the DOD. That new order, which canceled the 2016 pro sports policy, first became publicly availableMay 1 andwas obtained by The Denver Post.
“This memorandum revises and reinforces the Department’s policy for recently commissioned officers serving on active duty who are graduates of the Military Service Academies or Senior Reserve Officers’ TrainingCorps programs andwho seek to be released from active duty, or receive some other accommodation, so that theymay pursue careers in professional activities such as professional sports,” it read.
“The Military ServiceAcademies or Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs exist to develop future officerswho enhance the readiness and lethality of our Military Services. During their first two years following graduation, officers will serve as fullfledged military officers carrying out the normal work and career expectations of an officer who has received the extraordinary benefits of anROTCor military academy education at taxpayer expense.”
The orderwas a stunning shift froma year prior, when the DOD acknowledged and even tried to capitalize on the “individuals with exceptionally unique talents and abilities”— such as formerNavy quarterback and Baltimore Ravens sixth-round pick Keenan Reynolds — who could provide “significant favorable exposure likely to enhance national recruiting or public affairs efforts.”
The expectationwas that Robinettewould provide the same.
“Any vehicle where we can get people to better understand this incredible academy that we’re all a part of is certainly great for both the academy and for our nation,” Air Force Academy athletic director JimKnowlton toldTheGazette in March, ahead ofRobinette’s pro day.
On Monday, the full Senate confirmation vote is expected for Dr. Heather Wilson, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Air Force. While she wouldn’t have the power to change the DOD policy, she would be the one to change his status if ordered to do so.
Lisko’s hope is that Robinette’s status will change and that his long-planned future in the NFL is still very much alive.