WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed a presidential memorandum ordering the Pentagon to develop a new policy to allow athletes attending the nation’s military academies to play professional sports immediately after graduating.
The memo says student athletes graduating from the academies and Reserve Officers’ Training Corps should be able to defer their military service obligations due to the “short window of time” they have to “take advantage of their athletic talents during which playing professional sports is realistically possible.” It gives the defense secretary 120 days to develop a plan.
Trump had said in May that he was considering the change while presenting the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the U.