<p>I still do not understand the logic that having a high profile baseball player will increase recruiting. People who look at him are ones that say, “I would like to go to the Naval Academy so I can be a pro baseball player”…not I want to go because I want to be an officer. Do you expect him to do commercials for the Navy or something? Here is a good recruiting slogan. The reason the other high profile pro players that went to the academy are well known is because they did their time honorably and then went onto their pro careers. He took an oath on graduation day. He knew what could happen. If he was so sure he wanted to be a pro baseball player and not an officer why did he raise his right hand? All he would have had to do was pay back the academy.</p>
<p>I do not know what having a good football team and attracting good officers has to do with one another. I have never heard someone wanting to go to the Naval Academy because they had a good football team. Through the 90s Navy was terrible. Those officers are the ones that are field grade now and have led our military in OIF and OEF. I am pretty sure our bad football team did not make them bad officers. </p>
<p>If anything, publicity about a baseball player who was let out of their contract would be bad publicity. Enlisted Marine and Sailors are there because they want to do their duty. So how would putting him up as a “shining star” for the Navy help that. It would put a bitter taste in their mouths.</p>