Twitter-rant: Should student-athletes be able to freely transfer?

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Seemingly every week, new reports surface about how collegiate athletes are receiving impermissible benefits or how programs are breaking the rules.

Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated unveiled a five-part series on Oklahoma State: “A 10-month investigation that included independent interviews with 64 Oklahoma State football players from 1999 to 2011, as well as current and former football staffers, reveals the measures that a program will take to become elite — and the collateral damage that follows.”

The report details money (payments, bonuses), academics (schoolwork being done for players), drugs (using and dealing drugs), sex (women were instructed to have sex with recruits), and the fallout (players return to worlds they had hoped to escape).

The report is riveting, and it’s another reminder that there are a lot of dirty aspects of college sports.

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, five Southeastern Conference Players — including players from Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi State — received impermissible benefits prior to completing their collegiate careers.

Just a few weeks ago, we talked about whether college players should get paid or not. My conclusion is that, at some point, college players will receive some sort of stipend.

But what about transfers? The Florida High School Athletic Association has transfer regulations.

Players have transferred from Matanzas to FPC, and vice versa. In Volusia County, standout running back Trey Rodriguez is waiting to be cleared to play after transferring to Mainland from Seabreeze.

In a past column, I talked about how more lenient transfer rules wouldn’t be good for high school sports.

“High school sports should be a level playing field,” I wrote in March 2012. “If a student is zoned for a particular school, he or she should attend it unless there are some compelling academic reasons.”

Of course, personal reasons beyond sports could be a reason to transfer, too.

But what are your thoughts? Should But student-athletes be able to freely transfer schools without having to miss time? Why? Why not?

Chime in with your thoughts. Tweet to @aobrien7.

@aobrien7 Yes. I don't see why it would be an issue.
— Gavin Ewbank (@GavinEwbank2013) September 12, 2013

@aobrien7 Yes, and they shouldn't have to have a valid reason for leaving/transferring.
— Sara Komanowski (@kkkomanowski) September 12, 2013

@aobrien7 I think they should. If there's a school that they feel can increase their chances of getting to the next level, then idk why they
— Jeremiah Wilson (@JayyD_05) September 12, 2013