MAD
Arsenal FC, Detroit Lions
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- Aug 10, 2006
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I think you are missing one very important factor. She could have gone to any number of top programs coming out of High School. She chose Tennessee because of Pensky. Why should she be punished or criticized for wanting to follow the coach that brought her here, that helped her excel at a high level and gives her the best chance of playing at the next level. It happens all the time in the real world, why should it be any different for college students? Look at what happened when Kiffin left in the middle of the night, it’s very similar to Pensky leaving. She didn’t have enough time to uproot everything and she did give UT a shot for a year under Kirt. The football program is finally coming back but it took years. I don’t blame her for wanting to leave or any other student athletes that chooses to leave this year as well to improve their situation especially if the reason they came here left(Pensky). It’s the responsibility of Danny White to fix the situation and make it more appealing place for athletes to stay and want to come here. It does hurt seeing her go but I get it and wish her the best.Leaving a good program to go to what you perceive to be a better program is betrayal of your teammates---a slap in the face--even if transferring is de rigueur these days. It stings. It's one thing when a good player at a smaller program--a mid-major, say---transfers to a bigger, better program, and we see a lot of that. It's quite another thing when one moves from one big D1 program to another, but that happens a lot now, too.
Haley Hopkins was Vandy's best player--a center-forward and true scoring talent on a good team--and two years ago she surprised me and others--including, no doubt her coach and teammates--when she decided to transfer to UVA--a situation quite similar to this one. Vandy is a good program, but UVA is a bit more high-profile. She left Vandy high and dry--and the team struggled to score the season after she left and missed the NCAA. Vandy rebounded this year, however, but it was a serious setback.
I think transferring has been made too easy nowadays--but we're now in an era of player empowerment, for good or for bad. A mix of both, I think.