BL6

Post season is one game for almost half the schools in the state. Is that harsh? Getting to play the whole regular season with a post season ban for a transfer eliminates the one and dones like Raekwon Long, who according to posts on this site was gone as soon as the sweet sixteen loss was in the books. Who cares about an education, right? I have known many kids who sat out an entire year when they transferred. Some whose parents moved to another county but the child was still not cleared to play. A post season ban allows kids to play but takes away some of the need to transfer for athletic purposes that is so rampant at schools whose coaches can do no wrong.

Is it fair for teams to work hard for success and to have other schools be good because transfers magicly appear for their success? What does that teach the hard working loyal students? Do we want to teach them that people who break rules succeed and that hard work and loyalty are for suckers?

How is it a punishment if they are playing?

If players that transfer to a school were allowed to play in the regular season, but not in the post season, a lot of these transfers would not matter. That would allow kids to play without the need to transfer for success of the new school.

My proposal to solve this problem in high school sports would be to allow transfers to play immediately if they are in school on day one of a new school year, but to not allow them to play in the post season the first year when they transfer. This would allow the athletes to participate but would decrease the desire to transfer solely for athletic success, as the post season is where acquisition of talent is so desired.

There is also something in place to keep kids from transferring for athletic purposes called Bylaw 6. Rules are put in place for specific reasons. Even professional sports attempt to keep teams more equal in talent levels so as to keep interest in their sport. The acquisition of LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh to the Miami Heat demonstrates what can be done with talent coming together. That is what AAU basketball is for - accumulation of talent. What I see in amateur sports from high school down to little league baseball is that to be the best coaches, schools, and communities are willing to cheat so they can feel good about how talented and awesome their team is even if their team consists of no local players that start on their team. Anthony Davis didn't play for a loaded high school team. His teams had losing records. He did play AAU basketball to improve his skills and competitive abilities. Why do players feel like they are failures unless they can dominate because they are on a team with other great athletes?

http://khsaa.org/handbook/20142015/bylaws.pdf The premise of BYLAW 6 is to provide a fair chance for all students in a school district to have an opportunity to play high school sports for the team in their community. As we all know, if you can't beat a team with your own talent then it's okay to accept the talent from another community that has invested time and money in these athletes, without a moments hesitation. Out of state transfers, out of country transfers - why have bylaw 6 if you can't enforce it? I've been reading all the comments about players being ruled eligible, and I can say without a doubt that there is a lot of smoke being blown somewhere if you believe they are truly eligible. I say do away with bylaw 6 and let the chips fall where they may. At least then people can be honest about why they have moved, who they are living with, and can stop the blatant lies.

Case BL-6-2- Why is there a transfer rule? I believe the bylaw states it best: Handbook 2014-15 | Kentucky High School Athletic Association Nearly every state has a transfer rule to protect the integrity of the interscholastic program. These rules are necessary for several reasons including, but not limited to, the following principles: (1) these rules prevent and deter transfers due to recruiting or athletic reasons; (2) these rules protect the opportunities of bona fide resident students; (3) these rules provide a fundamentally fair and equitable framework for athletic competition in an academic setting; (4) these rules provide uniform standards for all schools to follow; (5) these rules support the educational philosophy that athletics is a privilege which should not assume a dominant position in a school’s program; (6) these rules keep the focus of educators and students on the fact that students attend schools to receive an education fi rst, and participate in athletics second; (7) these rules maintain the fundamental principle that a high school student should live at home with parents or custodian in the event of parental death or incapacitation, and attend school in the school district in which they reside; (8) these rules reinforce the view that a family is a strong and viable unit and as such is the best place for students to live while attending high school; (9) these rules serve as a deterrent to students running away from, or avoiding discipline that has been imposed; and (10) these rules prevent manipulation of a residence change or other exception solely or primarily for the purpose of interscholastic athletics participation and serve to ensure the integrity of the rules adherence process.