Fansided

SEC disallows players dismissed for ‘serious misconduct’ to transfer

By Jonathan Bass

Dec 5, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; The Southeastern Conference logo is seen at midfield at the Georgia Dome. The Alabama Crimson Tide plays the Missouri Tigers in the SEC Championship on Saturday. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; The Southeastern Conference logo is seen at midfield at the Georgia Dome. The Alabama Crimson Tide plays the Missouri Tigers in the SEC Championship on Saturday. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

SEC schools will no longer accept transfers from players who were dismissed from their previous school due to “serious misconduct.”

There’s an old joke down in SEC country that whenever a player is dismissed from one program he’ll end up playing for a rival and will become a star.

Oh (insert player) was kicked out of Florida? Looks like Auburn has a new Heisman winner.

Let’s call it the Cam Newton corollary.

Newton, Nick Marshall, Zach Mettenberger, Jeremiah Masoli, and the list goes on. There is a slew of players who have washed out with one program only to star with another down south. Picture the NFL where a guy plays with a team for eight seasons, gets cut and then bounces around the division for the rest of his career; he could go anywhere in the league, but he knows that specific division. That’s pretty much the SEC. Move on down the line to the next set of coaches who recruited you heavily – to the newest place that “feels like home.”

However, thanks to a new rule change, there will likely be less co-mingling in the Southeastern Conference. At their annual offseason meeting in Destin, Florida, conference officials passed a measure that bans schools from accepting the transfer of any player who has been dismissed from their previous school due to “serious misconduct.”

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the phrase “serious misconduct” is code for sexual assault or domestic violence, but does not cover all felonies and misdemeanors. Thus, if a player has been dismissed for aggravated sexual battery he would be unable to join one of the conference’s 14 programs; however, if he was cut loose for, say, constantly failing drug tests, then it’s an open market.

The measure was brought forth by the University of Georgia, and was likely spurred by the current climate of high-profile abuse cases in the NFL, as well as John Taylor, a defensive lineman who was first dismissed by UGA and then later Alabama following separate domestic abuse charges while at each institution.

When discussing the new rule, Sankey admitted as much, and also said that there was little-to-no push-back in adopting the measure.

"“The sentiment was very clear. There wasn’t a lot of debate at the end,” Sankey said.…“I think it’s an understanding of the current climate.”"

Should charges be dropped against a player, he can submit a waiver requesting a transfer; however it would require approval from the commissioner’s office.

Long thought of as a conference whose ethics are less than sturdy – think SEC and think of paying players, easier admissions and questionable characters – the league is on the progressive end of the spectrum with this move. With domestic violence at the forefront of the sports world and mainstream’s collective consciousness, this is a strong (albeit highly logical and overdue) statement from the SEC. Moreover, it’s an emphatic beginning to the Greg Sankey era.

More from College Football

Home/College Football