Bad NCAA? Iffy journalism? Both?

[Alma]

So I'm going to play the grinch here for a second while acknowledging, at the outset, the NCAA is generally problematic and probably needs to, at the very minimum, allow every college football player one free transfer.

But, anyway, the NCAA denied the immediate eligibility waiver of a Virginia Tech transfer who filed for a waiver because his mother still suffers the after-effects of a brain tumor she had removed two years ago.

The player took to Twitter to announce the denial and express emotions about it.



Media SOP after one of these kinds of Twitter is shaming, and that naturally commenced. (It appears the player will merely use another waiver because his coach at Coastal Carolina retired and it will work.)

A different kind of waiver should mean immediate eligibility...

There were couple of issues I generally had with the reporting, though, in the broadest sense.

1. The tweet said the player was 5 miles outside the 100-mile radius mandated by the NCAA. I was curious. Google maps said his hometown was 138 miles from Virginia Tech, and 207 miles from his old school, Coastal Carolina. It would appear the drive is about 90 minutes shorter between the two.

2. I'm perfectly sympathetic to the idea of being able to visit one's ailing mom more often, or cut down on the travel or whatever. But the NCAA didn't block his transfer to Virginia Tech, or his scholarship. They just denied an immediate eligibility waiver. What does the kid's immediate playing time have to do with his mom's health?

3. The kid is also very good. He started as a true freshman and sophomore at center for Coastal Carolina. Now, if he'd wanted to be really really close to his mom, he'd play at Charlotte, a mere 40 miles away from his hometown. But he's playing at Virginia Tech because, well, he's good. And Virginia Tech probably wants him to play - right away.

Again - as a rule, I'd advocate for one free transfer. But the story hasn't really been presented as what it is: A desire for Virginia Tech to get a good player eligible right away. If he wasn't needed immediately, Virginia Tech wouldn't have wanted him no matter how ill his mother was.

 

[JC]

I'll never understand anybody who takes sides with the NCAA.

 

[poindexter]

Again - as a rule, I'd advocate for one free transfer.

Do you have a rule for coaches? Coaches that are under contract?

 

[BTExpress]

They're called buyouts.

 

[Alma]

I'll never understand anybody who takes sides with the NCAA.

I wrote the bolded portion for a specific reason - because, as a rule, I do not agree with the NCAA's stance on transfer. I'd allow one free one.

It's more of a journalism thing. The kid's going to have a scholarship at Virginia Tech. He's going to be closer to his mom. He's going to have two years left of eligibility whether he plays in 2019 or not. But he's also transferring from a lesser school to a better one. I think that's for a reason - because he's good. I don't think Virginia Tech is extending the guy charity.

 

[Alma]

Do you have a rule for coaches? Coaches that are under contract?

Smart schools use big buyouts.

What's interesting is, if you paid the athletes, they probably wouldn't have much player-driven mobility.

One of the challenges of even broaching this is it makes me seem rude. If it were me, I'd approve the waiver for any player, for any reason, one time.

But, from the journalism aspect of it, I can also see a "well, Wake Forest was 40 miles away. Did you contact that school?" kind of question.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

They're called buyouts.

Which is typically paid for by the hiring school.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The bottom line is that the NCAA always says the athletes are supposed to be treated like any other student. Any other student can transfer to the school of his choice and participate in any extracurricular activity he chooses without without restrictions from anyone, including a governing body.

It’s about the NCAA’s hypocrisy.

 

[Della9250]

Honestly, what really makes it worse is this:

Justin Fields transferred because he couldn't start at Georgia. They let him go to Ohio State right away. Tate Martell then transferred to Miami because Justin Fields took his starting spot. They let him go right away.

Then this kid gets rejected, because by the letter of the law it falls five miles outside the 100-mile radius.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Honestly, what really makes it worse is this:

Justin Fields transferred because he couldn't start at Georgia. They let him go to Ohio State right away. Tate Martell then transferred to Miami because Justin Fields took his starting spot. They let him go right away.

Then this kid gets rejected, because by the letter of the law it falls five miles outside the 100-mile radius.

Fields won his appeal because he proved to the committee’s satisfaction that Georgia was a hostile environment because of racist messages directed at his sister, if I remember correctly.
Did Tate Martell get immediate eligibility because Urban retired? I think that’s the logic, but I’m not sure.
I still think things are going to be different in 10 years. Paying players or at least permitting greater flexibility in transferring will be the law of this rotten land.

 

[Della9250]

Fields won his appeal because he proved to the committee’s satisfaction that Georgia was a hostile environment because of racist messages directed at his sister, if I remember correctly.
Did Tate Martell get immediate eligibility because Urban retired? I think that’s the logic, but I’m not sure.
I still think things are going to be different in 10 years. Paying players or at least permitting greater flexibility in transferring will be the law of this rotten land.

Fields left because of a racial slur directed at him by a member of the baseball team, who was then kicked out.

His sister still attends the school and is a softball player; so the question is, why is it okay for her to stay and him to leave?

 

[micropolitan guy]

Fields left because of a racial slur directed at him by a member of the baseball team, who was then kicked out.

His sister still attends the school and is a softball player; so the question is, why is it okay for her to stay and him to leave?

I expect she would also receive immediate eligibility if she left UGa. Apparently she doesn't want to.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Fields left because of a racial slur directed at him by a member of the baseball team, who was then kicked out.

His sister still attends the school and is a softball player; so the question is, why is it okay for her to stay and him to leave?

That is a good question. I’m guessing the pr backlash of a denied appeal would have been even more pronounced than this one involving the Va Tech guy.

 

[Della9250]

I expect she would also receive immediate eligibility if she left UGa. Apparently she doesn't want to.

But the whole case for her brother was that Georgia was an unsafe environment, both universitywide and in the athletic department. Yet his sister stayed, so it can't be that dangerous

 

[tapintoamerica]

Everything is off kilter here. The system of controlled player movement is wrong. The reasoning by both appellant and judiciary on these matters is often specious as well.

 

[micropolitan guy]

But the whole case for her brother was that Georgia was an unsafe environment, both universitywide and in the athletic department. Yet his sister stayed, so it can't be that dangerous

The conditions that made it "dangerous" for him might not apply to his sister. They are totally different people.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Blacksburg is closer than Conway. According to Google maps ...

From Conway, S.C., to Statesville, N.C., is 196 miles.
From Blacksburg, Va., to Statesville is 134 miles.

Still ... Statesville is much closer to Winston-Salem (41 miles) and Charlotte (42). One of those should work.

I don't side with the NCAA - at all - but one of Charlotte or Wake Forest would do more to keep him close to home. Blacksburg doesn't help very much, certainly by comparison. And given Charlotte's attempt to start up football again - it has been pretty feeble - he could probably make a difference there.

EDIT: I get that the kid might just want out of Conway. Also, someone on Justin Fuente's staff might really want this kid now that he has proven he has made the transition to Division I.

But is this about being closer to his mother or simply coming up with any way technically possible to get out of Conway?

 

[jlee]

From a journalism perspective: It’s appropriate to point out both the flaws in the players’ reasons for a transfer, as well as the fact that it’s silly that they need to prove a hardship in the first place, and how inconsistently the policy is applied. Oh and hot takes on Twitter are never worth it.

My personal perspective: Is the kid in the right? Who cares. He wants to go to school somewhere else. Let him.

 

[JC]

He's not a paid employee, if he wants to leave let him leave. Remember, they are simply amateurs.