It seems that when it comes to making the “right” decision, it is a lot harder than we think.
A young man, DeAnthony Arnett, is looking to return home. And he can…if he accepts a punishment for it.
Arnett plays college football and was a highly-talented recruit last year. And as the rules go, when a player transfers, they have to sit a season. But this isn’t the problem. The problem is that his coach is, well, bitter.
You can read the facts of the case here, but it is pretty simple:
- Arnett qualifies for a transfer waiver because of family circumstances, meaning he doesn’t have to sit out a year.
- Arnett is from Saginaw, Michigan. Since he was a four-star, top-100 recruit, he was recruited by elite programs, including Michigan and Michigan State.
- Arnett is hoping to compete at the same level of competition.
- Arnett’s coach at the University of Tennessee, Derek Dooley, won’t let him transfer to any other elite school.
It might be easy to get trapped in whether or not Arnett’s case is “worthy,” but that isn’t the issue. Particularly as the NCAA appears to have already said it is. It comes down to whether a football coach should prevent one of his players from succeeding elsewhere. You could speak of the coach’s right to field a competitive football team. You could speak of the player’s right to play for a different competitive football team. In some ways, both seem reasonable.
Except for this. We’ve already fought this battle. In professional atheletics, free agency became an essential part of the sport. Since this isn’t an academic issue, but an athletic one, isn’t the precedent set for players, within reason, being able to go where they want? Arnett has met his obligations in the light of the NCAA. He isn’t looking to go to another SEC team. And if you want to go with “tradition” and honoring commitments to family and cultural BS, then by recruiting him from Michigan, Arnett is tantamount to having been kidnapped in the first place.
No, this isn’t a reasonable proposition. The coach is toying with this young man’s present (giving him two bad choices) and his future (sending him to a weaker program). There is nothing honorable in a grown man doing that to a teenager. He is preventing Arnett from succeeding and caring for his family. The most charitable word I can use to describe Derek Dooley is bitter.
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