Rubio Implores Biden To Come To Defense of Bucs Rookie Kinley

TAMPA, FLA – U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is seeking assistance from President Joe Biden in helping Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie Cameron Kinley play in the NFL after the former Navy football captain’s request to defer his service to the military was denied by the acting secretary of the Navy.

In the letter, which was released Sunday by Rubio’s office, the senator asks Biden to intervene in an “issue of great unfairness.” Rubio said that in years past, the Department of Defense has issued a waiver to allow athletes who graduated from military academies to pursue dreams of playing professional sports.

“Mr. Kinley seems to be the exception, and without reason,” Rubio wrote in the letter, in which he characterized Kinley as a “talented and patriotic young man.”

In his letter to Biden, Rubio cited four other cases this year in which graduates of military academies were allowed to delay their commissions in order to pursue their football aspirations. Kinley was able to participation in a Pro Day at Navy, where he was the president of his graduating class and was allowed to take part in a Buccaneers rookie minicamp before Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker denied Kinley’s request to delay his service to the country.

“Mr. Kinley is not seeking to terminate his commitment to the Navy,” Rubio wrote. “Far from it. He wishes to promote service to our great nation from one of the country’s largest stages. I implore you to right this wrong. Grant Mr. Kinley’s waiver to play in the NFL, and send a message to future academy graduates that the United States is a country where Americans can follow their dreams and be true to their commitment.”

Kinley, who signed with the Bucs as an undrafted free agent after this year’s NFL Draft, issued a statement about the denial of the waver and said, "it is very difficult to have been this close to achieving a childhood dream and having it taken away."

"I am very aware of the commitment that I made to serve when I first arrived at the United States Naval Academy. I look forward to my career as a naval officer in the information warfare community,” Kinley wrote. “However, I am deserving of the opportunity to live out another one of my life-long dreams before fulfilling my service requirement.”

ESPN reported that rather than start training camp with the defending Super Bowl champions, Kinley will report for the start of his naval service on June 28 before reporting to intelligence school in October for six months before his duty assignment begins.

Kinley said that while many of his Navy classmates have asked him about his chances of making the Bucs, he has been forced to feign enthusiasm about his prospects knowing that the Navy will not allow him to delay his service.

Kinley has not received an explanation about being denied the waiver from Harker and has instead only heard from the secretary’s spokesman, ESPN reported. There is no appeal to the decision.

“It was hard trying to keep a smile on my face knowing I wouldn't be able to go back down to Tampa. And having to get up on stage and still deliver that speech — it was tough. It took a lot of strength,” he said according to ESPN.

"It's been rough — mentally and emotionally."