Dwight Howard doesn't like the 19-and-1 rule

Earlier this week, we wrote about Steve Cohen, a congressman from Tennessee that is against the NBA's age limit, and the minor tiff he had with Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.

The way we ended the article was this:

There is a silver lining, however. Maybe this little dust-up will bring the problems of the 19-and-1 to the forefront, and will help in eventually getting it overturned.

Could this actually be happening?

One of the articles we linked to in today's Morning Dump was from Deadspin, and their take on the rule. According to one of their links, it may even be illegal. From BWP Employment Law:

Surprisingly lost in the discussion about whether age limits are appropriate for the NBA draft is the fact that many state laws prohibit employment discrimination against individuals who are eighteen or over. As playing in the NBA is employment — albeit a dream job — eighteen year olds are deprived of their potential employment and are thus victims of age discrimination. In New York, for example, the New York State Human Rights Law prohibits employers from refusing to hire or employ an “individual eighteen years of age or older… because of such individual’s age.” The NBA, and its players’ union, are subject to compliance with all New York employment laws, as well as other state laws which prohibit discrimination based on age.

Yesterday, Dwight Howard weighed in on the issue. From TrueHoop:

I don't think going to college would have helped me out. Not saying that college is bad, it's very good, but I think for me and what I want to accomplish, it just wasn't for me.

You're obviously richer for being here.

It's not about money, though.

But you think you're a better basketball player, also, because you came directly to the NBA?

I think so. You're playing basketball all the time. You're getting coached. You're playing against the best of the best. You know, sometimes college is good for a lot of players, and others it's not.

So while this rule is facing some criticism in the news, does anyone really expect it to get overturned, especially when David Stern is trying to increase the age limit? The bottom line is that the NBA owners want to see the guys they are going to be investing millions of dollars in play. NBA teams cannot scout high school players, and to be fair, what would they get from seeing a Kevin Durant or a Derrick Rose going up against over-matched opponents at the high school level anyway?

Not much.

It may be unfair to the players, but if it protects the investments of the NBA owners (and that is what each player is to them), then Stern is going to try his damnedest to keep the rule in place.