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Critics say some athletes might skip service

A star Naval Academy football player set to graduate almost a year late will enter the fleet under contract to an NFL team, in an arrangement critics called troubling but which academy officials said is completely above board.

Midshipman 1st Class Shun White, a slotback whose four years on the team helped sustain Navy’s gridiron dominance, was signed last year by the New England Patriots as part of a deal to practice with the team in his spare time. There is no agreement in place for him to break his military commitment, but a source said the academy allowed him to reschedule an exam last spring so he could attend a practice.

White’s contract with the Patriots gives the team rights to sign him as soon as he becomes available.

He is one of a handful of top players who have signed such a contract. Athletics Director Chet Gladchuk said contracts binding mids to pro teams are a technicality, to let midshipmen have a relationship with pro players. It does not mean they can play in the big time.

“It’s very clear to everyone on the Yard ... with those that will ask the question, ‘Is there any chance that the secretary of the Navy might release us to play in the NFL?’ The answer is ‘no’ here,” Gladchuk said. “Number one, you’ve got an obligation to go serve; number two, the NFL knows very clearly that as a ... sailor or Marine, there’s no chance at all for them to participate.”

The Patriots allow mids to practice with them mostly as a favor from head coach Bill Belichick, whose father spent years at Annapolis as an assistant football coach, Gladchuk said. But it’s not that simple, two sources told Navy Times: Permitting active-duty officers to have deals with the NFL gives them an incentive not to fulfill their service obligations, they said.

“Bottom line: Slippery. Really slippery,” said a Naval Academy academic source, who was not authorized to talk publicly and asked not to be identified.

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