Georgia’s proposal to ban players from transferring within the conference if they have been disciplined for serious misconduct is likely to be “tabled”.
Why, you ask? Well, for one thing, there’s that “innocent until proven guilty” crapola the presidents can’t seem to get a handle on.
During Thursday’s meeting, several SEC presidents and chancellors who are lawyers questioned what would happen if a player arrested is not convicted on such charges, Pastides said.
“That was the complexity — what about innocent until proven guilty?” Pastides said. “That’s what we have to work out with the ADs. I think that universities need to be held to a different standard than just what the law says. I do agree that those (violence) issues are much more serious than, for example, you get arrested for drinking underage or speeding or smoking pot. So I do think we need to take a different stand on these.”
But the real hold up is that the SEC office doesn’t want to touch this with a ten-foot pole.
“I’ve always been opposed to the conference having the authority or requirement to sanction a student at an institution for behavior unrelated to athletics,” Slive said. “That’s something I wouldn’t want, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for the conference office to be involved in that kind of assessment. That belongs on the campus. I made that abundantly clear.”
Translation: I don’t need Roger Goodell’s headaches, thank you very much. You don’t want these kids, presidents? Then you keep ’em off your campuses.
The problem with that, as Dan Wolken neatly summarizes, is simple.
But the fact player discipline is now on the table for discussion suggests SEC schools no longer trust each other (or perhaps themselves) to act in the best interest of the conference when they have to decide whether a player with serious baggage is worth the trouble.
Yeah, that’s a real dilemma. But there’s an obvious way out: make Jimmy Williamson the next conference commissioner.