If I was in charge of high school football in the state of Georgia here’s what I would do about transfers: Absolutely Nothing. Cheating on the other hand, I would punish harshly. Unfortunately it seems the lines have become blurred on this subject. They are not the same…although they can be.

This past off-season the Georgia High School Association formed a committee to study the subject in light of the rising numbers of high-profile transfers…most notably at defending state AAAAAAA Champion Grayson last season. But there isn’t a classification or a region in the state where this isn’t happening to some degree and in some places to a large degree. The committee proposed that players who transfer be forced to sit-out 50-percent of the coming season’s games. That proposal was tabled for now.

The biggest problem with this proposal is the assumption that transfers are evil.

Why should a student-athlete whose family moves into another district be forced to sit out games? There are any number of reasons why families move: change in employment, divorce, the opportunity to live in a better neighborhood or go to a better school. Why should a player be punished for that? After all high school student athletes don’t change residence on their own. There is ALWAYS an adult(s) behind the decision.

Every argument I hear that opposes transfers is always about what it is doing to the respective programs involved (good and bad) and hardly ever is the question asked…”is this a good thing for the student-athlete?” In my perfect world a parent should be able to send their child to whatever school they want to send them to. But for right now…in this current world…we have school districts and students are supposed to attend the schools in the district in which they live.

So you might be thinking, “Matt you’re missing the point. What about the families of the student-athletes who say they’re living in a school district, but really are not, just so their children can play for a better football program?” That is cheating; and if it can be proven, the offenders should be punished harshly. But as school administrators know, policing this is a very difficult thing to do. I don’t like cheating but throwing a blanket of presumed guilt upon all players who transfer is not the answer to the problem.