Reigning In The Transfer Portal and NIL

February 07, 2022 2 Comments

Reigning in the Transfer Portal and NIL

In Order to Save College Football

850 words

By Chris Warner

February 7, 2022

 

     Tailgating each fall with friends, family and alumni; and cheering to victory one’s favorite college football team are fond memories for those hailing from the Deep South.  In this part of the country we are weaned on these indelible, social experiences that are as normal to us as going to church the next day; and we flock to these calling, cathartic, vaunted cathedrals of college football—in smartened, heightened droves.  College football—the game that got it all started; that once great molder and maker of young men, and the important stuff of bragging rights for the lucky winners, and their dedicated alumni and fans.  It is a glorified game borrowed from English counterparts with post-Civil War, robber baron roots, one that avenged the defeated South, allowing it to once and for all cast out its tired and broken Confederate demons; and one that helped fully integrate the American college athletic ranks.

     All that is great about the King of America’s outdoor sports is in jeopardy:  Its history, its function, its importance.  The game we love and cherish has not been properly protected.  Thus, the changing winds are upon us, and with each passing day without rule modifications, the revered pastime fades further into semi-professional obscurity against a confounding, oxymoronic university backdrop.

Name Image & Likeness

     If we agree in principle that a player deserves compensation and should be allowed to bear the just fruits a free market will bear upon the skillful, the gifted and even the glinted; then we must accept that student athletes must learn proper money management skills and the responsibilities and pitfalls inherent of a large windfall and a potential lifestyle change.  Coaches have been caught off guard, as have the departments, as they were not thinking ahead.  They did not foresee the challenges with such a massive rule change.  Further, no coach wants to imagine that every star player on his roster heading into fall camp has a fat bank account and access to large amounts of cash, allowing the young man a host of opportunities and difficult decisions he and his parents and coaches never imagined; and of course, where there is money there are those who will endeavor to pry it from the athletes.  It is a bonding ritual and con as old as time, as we have seen pro athletes destitute within two to three years after turning pro, surrounded by their “friends.”

The Open Transfer Rule

     Of the changes we have seen implemented, the most costly to player, team and fan loyalty has been the open transfer rule.  Coupled with NIL it revolutionizes college football and leaves many fans’ feelings towards the game ringing similar to those held toward college basketball since “one and done” became the unpopular norm.  If college football players are allowed to continue to pimp themselves out to the highest bidder after every season through gaudier NIL contracts from the bigger programs and to openly transfer within conference, then the game will irreparably lose its marginal appeal while fans find something else to do with their money and time; because the game they were brought up on will no longer be.  Considering that the overall responsibility of the academic institution is to educate the athlete, any learned individual can see the inherent university mission conflicts with these monumental rule changes.  We all know where this is going.

Men Competing As Women—As Men

The NCAA last April made a firm statement on its unpopular stance to allow this kind of unfair competition to continue.  No level-headed female or their parents wants men competing as women.  This is on par with letting the fox into the hen house.  If you cannot see how this disrupts the lives of young female student-athletes, consider the case of the Penn State swim team.  Educate yourself.  Hear the testimonies of the female teammates of the unfair advantages men have over women in strength, power and endurance.  And by the way—where is the NCAA, lately?  Their job is to ensure fairness, equity and that no sport becomes ostensibly more important than any course within the college curriculum.  Mark Emmert is apparently working overtime—for the globalists.

In April 2021, the NCAA went on record regarding transgender participation in sports.  “The NCAA firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports…and we are grounded in our values of inclusion and fair competition.”

Only A Reactionary Movement Will Save College Football, College Athletics

College Football is teetering on disaster; and college athletics cannot afford to lose the king of outdoor sports and ultimate American fall Saturday pastime.  The fans will decide the game’s fate.  It is time for college football fans to be heard.  Speak to a return to fairness and sensibility, while honoring the responsibility of preparing the athlete for life after sports.

*Chris Warner is a New Iberia, Louisiana native.  He holds two degrees from LSU and a doctorate from the University of New Orleans.  He is the author and publisher of over 20 books, including a tell-all book on the LSU Athletic Department, “Inside the Eye of the Tiger” with Coach Jerry Simmons. He is a regular speaker.  He lives in Perdido Key, Florida.

Visit his web page: chriswarnerauthor.com

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