President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper touted during an appearance at an Army-Navy football game Saturday a new administration policy that makes it easier for military academy athletes to go pro.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2019
Driving the news: Trump announced in June plans to enable student-athletes graduating from the academies and ROTC to "play professional sports before fulfilling their two-year active-duty military requirement," per Reuters.
- Under the policy outlined last month, athletes must "get approval from the Pentagon chief" and "fulfill their military obligation or repay the costs of their education," AP notes.
Worth noting: In 2017, the Trump administration rescinded an Obama-era policy allowing military service academy and ROTC athletes to be recruited directly into professional sports.
Game result: The Navy won the 120th playing of the game in Philadelphia 31-7, the New York Times reports.
Editor's note: This piece has been corrected to show that the new rule will allow student-athletes to play professional sports before fulfilling their military requirement (not delay professional sports).
