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Should College Athletes Have to Stay All 4 Years?

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Should College Athletes Have to Stay All 4 Years?
In every sport there’s always that one guy, the one who was born to play, the one the entire team looks for when they need a win. The Los Angeles Lakers have Kobe Bryant and now Dwight Howard, the Miami Heat have Lebron James, and the Milwaukee Bucks have Brandon Jennings. There have been these athletes and many more who fit into that category. These three men are in an elite group of their own, each of them didn’t attend a single class in college, and as a matter of fact they didn’t play a single minute of college basketball. Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Brandon Jennings skipped college on their road to stardom in the NBA. Teens in professional sports have come in all shapes and sizes, and it has been a debated topic for many years. The debate dates back to when basketball superstar Wilt Chamberlain attempted to forgo his senior year of college to enter the NBA draft. Some of these players have turned out to be busts, others hall of famers. Some are the face of the franchise and others end up quitting early. Teens should be able to play in professional sports because restrictions are not put on ages for other jobs, or even other sports, these talented kids should be able to play with the bigger and better competition, all while avoiding getting hurt by other players.
It is understood that teens should not be able to leave college early or even skip it entirely to enter professional sports. In the article Teenage Athletes in Professional Sports it states, “Young athletes are often unprepared for the physical demands in top-tier sports competition.” In 2007, basketball star Greg Oden left Ohio State University after his freshman year to enter the NBA draft. Oden was selected as the first overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007 and since then has only played a total of 82 games. He has sat out about a season and a half due to injuries, Oden has suffered from a broken wrist, a torn knee, a twisted ankle and a sprained foot since leaving

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