TAMPA (WFLA) – Florida Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to grant a waiver for Cameron Kinley to temporarily delay his military service in order for him to pursue his dream of playing in the NFL for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Kinley, a recent graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, signed with the Buccaneers in the beginning of May, did not have the necessary permission to try to fulfill his dream of playing in the National Football League.

He only asked to delay it, not to ignore it to pursue a professional football career, which other players have successfully done in the past, but he did not receive the necessary approval.

“I was kind of speechless,” admitted Kinley. “I started thinking about the whole journey, being able to go down to Tampa and compete for a spot on the 53-man roster – so all of the hard work, all of the adversity you overcome and, for somebody to be able to take that away, it hurts especially when you are so close to achieving a childhood dream.”

The Republican senator representing Florida wrote a letter to President Biden urging Kinley be given the chance to play for the Buccaneers.

“In years past, the U.S. Department of Defense has issued many waivers to allow athletes to temporarily delay their service to our nation to pursue their professional sports dreams,” Rubio wrote. “Unfortunately, Mr. Kinley seems to be the exception, and without reason.” 

“Mr. Kinley is not seeking to terminate his commitment to the Navy,” Rubio continued. “He wishes to promote service to our great nation from one of the country’s largest stages. I implore you to right this wrong.”