Booker and Beck Miss Practice

Endorsements force Beck, Booker to miss Dolphins practice

By Alex Marvez
Sun-Sentinel.com
Posted May 18 2007, 1:35 PM EDT

 

A mandatory commercial endorsement has forced two of the Dolphins' top four draft picks to miss two offseason practices. Brigham Young quarterback John Beck and Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker were absent from the Dolphins' Organized Coaching Sessions today and Thursday because of contractual obligations to attend the Reebok NFL Players Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles. The gathering was negotiated by Players Inc., which is the marketing and licensing branch of the NFL Players Association. Overall, 35 players selected between the first and fourth rounds in last month's draft are in attendance for a series of commercial opportunities that include photo shoots for trading card companies and other appearances that will be part of a televised special later this summer. The OCS' are essentially scaled-back versions of minicamp practices, with each NFL team allowed to conduct 14 throughout the offseason in preparation for training camp. Dolphins first-round draft choice Ted Ginn Jr. also is at the Rookie Premiere but NCAA rules bar him from attending the team's OCS until June when Ohio State's senior class graduates. Ginn also isn't cleared to practice while recovering from a foot injury suffered in January. The scheduling of the Rookie Premiere is causing controversy league-wide, as some high-profile players are being forced to miss their team's minicamp practices. Dolphins coach Cam Cameron said he didn't want to express an opinion on the situation because he didn't want to "let it become a negative" since he had no control over the situation. Cameron, though, admittedly found it curious that Ginn can be required to attend an NFL marketing function yet isn't allowed yet to participate in offseason work at Dolphins headquarters. "We'd like to think there's some rationale there," Cameron said.

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