I have to apologize in advance here for bringing up an article about Air Force. I hate Air Force. I kind of hope that the Yellowstone Caldera pops its top and buries the school Pompeii-style. But this article in the Colorado Springs Gazette touches on a topic of interest to Navy fans, so I’ll bite the bullet for now.

The topic is the old “should service academies let athletes go pro” question. Usually it divides Navy fans into two camps: the “great PR for the school” camp and the “that’s not the mission of the school” camp. It’s a tired old debate that I don’t particularly feel like hashing out at the moment. There’s one quote in the article that I do want to comment on, though:

“Hopefully (Air Force officials’) minds are open to the opportunity this thing brings,” Nwaelele said. “It looks good for the academy. It only brings positive stuff. Antoine’s doing it, and he’s doing a good job off and on the court.”

Only brings positive “stuff?” Who is he kidding? There is no faster way to get service academy athletic departments shut down than to start sending graduates into professional sports. That’s just begging for a congressional inquiry, especially when the military is as heavily tasked as it is nowadays. I’m sure it looks good for the basketball program, but how does that look good for the school? And what kind of positive “stuff” is anyone getting out of Antoine Hood? How many people even know that the NBDL exists? Let’s be real; we aren’t exactly talking about David Robinson here.

I’m sure this subject will present itself again, so I won’t dive too deep this time. I’m curious about what the Air Force will decide.