Wes Miller on Transfer Waiver Denials For His Players
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00:00 Yeah, I, I, uh, I'm gonna be cautious with my words because I'm just, I'm very discouraged.
00:17 You know, I'm, I think everybody here is confused.
00:23 There's, there's so much to unpack on this deal.
00:31 It just doesn't make sense.
00:32 And I think, uh, I think first off, like we got to kind of look back here and put this
00:36 into perspective.
00:37 People want to make this a simple thing and it's not simple.
00:42 You know, we, a couple, three or four years ago, they, an organization decided to just
00:47 open the floodgates, NIL, immediate transfers anytime you want.
00:51 And the floodgates just come flying open.
00:54 The toothpaste comes out of the tube and everybody in college athletics, some, there's an organizing
01:02 body, the NCA that allowed that to happen, whether they were forced because they didn't
01:07 over a long period of time address necessary changes that should have happened.
01:12 But the body that was governing college athletics that was in charge, let the toothpaste out
01:19 of the tube.
01:20 For whatever reason, that's a whole conversation in itself.
01:23 And now people are going, we got to put the toothpaste back in the tube and restrict some
01:28 of this in some possible way.
01:30 So we decided that we wanted to restrict transfers.
01:33 That's fine.
01:34 I think most people support that.
01:36 Most coaches support that.
01:37 I have no issue with that.
01:38 If we're going to restrict transfers, let's make it very clear.
01:43 So we decide that we're going to restrict transfers and we come out with a set of guidelines
01:49 and we say that there are three types of waivers that are ways that you can transfer a second
01:55 time.
01:57 That same organization, the NCAA that we got in, that was overseeing us when the toothpaste
02:03 came out of the tube, came out and created a situation now in a process where there's
02:09 waivers.
02:10 I think it's a really, really good question that I wish people in the media would start
02:14 asking why are there waivers?
02:16 Why do we have them?
02:19 I'm curious to answer that question.
02:21 It'd be a lot clearer if they just came out and said, there are no two time transfers,
02:27 no exceptions.
02:29 I've actually heard that the people in the room making the decision didn't want waivers.
02:35 So if somebody needs to figure out why we have them, but if we're going to create waivers
02:40 and we're going to create guidelines for a process and kids and universities and coaches
02:47 teams are going to make decisions based on those guidelines, then we have to follow through
02:54 on them.
02:55 Because right now I'm trying to understand the purpose of disease and Jameel not playing.
03:00 And the only thing that I can make sense of is the NCAA doesn't want to have mental health
03:06 waivers.
03:08 So they're going to deny all of them so that now nobody will try this again.
03:15 If we don't want waivers, we shouldn't have waivers.
03:19 And that in my opinion is totally wrong and unfair.
03:23 It's unfair.
03:24 It's wrong because I'd love to have some restrictions on transfers.
03:29 I'd love that.
03:30 That'd be great.
03:31 Okay.
03:32 That would help college basketball in my opinion.
03:34 But let me make this very, very clear.
03:37 I'm not okay with using my guys as examples for the next people that are transferring.
03:43 I'm not okay with sacrificing our kids.
03:46 And I do believe that's what's happening.
03:48 We're sacrificing this round of kids for the future.
03:52 And that is wrong.
03:53 It is wrong.
03:54 It isn't about whether we should or shouldn't have second time transfer.
03:58 It's about, we have a process.
04:01 We have guidelines.
04:03 People make life decisions based on those guidelines.
04:06 And now they are confused.
04:09 And let's think they are the, in their time in college athletics, they've been allowed
04:14 to transfer whenever they want.
04:18 Who allowed that?
04:21 And now they're told, well, you can transfer, but you got to meet these guidelines.
04:23 Well, I meet those guidelines.
04:25 Not just, I think I do.
04:26 I've consulted with a lawyer.
04:29 I've looked into it.
04:31 And now to go into the season, not hear anything, I mean, it's confusing.
04:36 I don't think people understand personally, like when you interact with the kids every
04:41 day, I don't think people understand that are making decisions.
04:44 Like they're human beings that are being affected and have, there's a lot of dynamics that are
04:49 at play here, obviously, that I hope somebody will try to figure out.
04:53 But like there are kids that are being like sacrificed for this, that you actually have
04:59 to come in and deal with them and deal with the things that they're going.
05:02 They're obviously going through stuff to be in this predicament anyway.
05:05 Now it's like three or four times harder.
05:08 And it is like totally unfair and discouraging.
05:11 And we are going to, we appealed for disease and they denied it.
05:18 I think they said that he checked every box, but they couldn't figure out why Cincinnati,
05:23 like why does that make sense?
05:25 Well, guys, he's from Senegal.
05:26 What do you can't, he can't go back to Senegal, go to college.
05:31 He played his first year at Akron in the state of Ohio, his American family.
05:36 And there's a lot that goes into that, that he doesn't want talked about publicly is within
05:40 a driving radius of this campus.
05:42 Like why Cincinnati?
05:45 Then where is he supposed to go?
05:49 That's the only feedback that we got.
05:50 They said, Oh, everything else checked out, but it doesn't make sense why he would have
05:54 to go to Cincinnati.
05:55 I mean, his coach at Utah Valley last year got the Cal job.
06:02 The majority of his teammates transferred and they're having success playing other places.
06:07 His whole support network gone.
06:11 And then he's told he can do this, that he meets the standards.
06:15 So he makes a decision to leave.
06:16 This is the place that's closest to his support system.
06:19 He can't go to Senegal to play college basketball.
06:22 And they're saying why Cincinnati?
06:24 It doesn't make sense to us.
06:26 It feels unfair, unjust.
06:27 It ain't right.
06:29 And I can tell you this, we're going to stand by him.
06:33 Like we're going to support him.
06:35 We're going to petition the NCAA to reconsider this thing on Monday.
06:39 And I wish they would.
06:40 There's a human element here.
06:42 If we, and I'd say this finally, and I could go on, I know way more about this than I ever
06:47 cared to know.
06:49 But guys, they came out two weeks ago and said, this process ain't right.
06:52 They made a statement.
06:54 It's not right.
06:55 It's messed up.
06:56 We're going to change it next year.
06:57 But there's human beings that are being affected.
07:00 Change it now.
07:01 My gosh, change it now.
07:03 I mean, it is ridiculous.
07:06 So we're going to, I just wish they would for one second go, what are Aziz and Jamil
07:11 going through?
07:13 What did they do?
07:14 And this is the last point I'll make.
07:16 It is really important for all of us in our lives to have accountability when we make
07:20 mistakes.
07:21 It's an important lesson that we all have to learn.
07:23 And when we make mistakes, we have to be accountable.
07:27 And that is, that's what a governing body is there to do.
07:30 They have to hold people accountable.
07:33 And I appreciate that.
07:35 We have a laws in this country.
07:36 If you break them, you should be held accountable.
07:38 Like that's a great lesson for kids.
07:40 If our kids are late, we hold them accountable.
07:45 It's a great lesson.
07:46 Okay.
07:47 What have Aziz and Jamil done wrong?
07:50 What are we holding them accountable for?
07:51 What did they do?
07:52 They haven't done anything.
07:55 We holding them accountable to make a broader point of trying to put toothpaste back in
07:59 a tube for college athletics.
08:02 It's not fair to them.
08:03 How do they have any, it's taken me months and months to figure this whole process out.
08:07 I'm 40 years old, professional.
08:10 Been in college athletics for almost 20 years.
08:14 Over the last month, I'm finally starting to piece some stuff together.
08:17 How the heck are student athletes last spring supposed to put this together?
08:21 They put out one piece of paper.
08:24 That's what we all went off of, including these kids.
08:27 What are we holding them accountable for?
08:29 If they broke a rule, if they made a mistake, then they shouldn't be allowed to play.
08:34 I support that, but they haven't done anything wrong.
08:38 This is wrong.
08:40 And I believe since, I believe John Cunningham and our president, President Penzo, I believe
08:46 those guys and this community and these fans, I think are going to stand by these kids and
08:50 support them.
08:51 Because I think anybody that really looks at this goes, this isn't fair to young people.
08:57 And you're dang right, it ain't fair to our team.
08:58 It ain't fair to our coaching staff.
09:00 It ain't fair to our fans.
09:02 But like, let's start with them first.
09:03 They're people, they're human beings.
09:06 And I just, please NCAA, whoever that is, whoever's over there, I don't even know what
09:12 that means.
09:13 They don't communicate like that with us.
09:15 But whoever's over there, look at it as they're human beings.
09:19 They're not examples for the next crop of people that decide to transfer.
09:25 And I think if they look at it like that and go by the guidelines they set out in the spring,
09:30 I believe those two be on the court tomorrow.
09:33 So I wish we'd start asking the questions, why do we even have waivers?
09:37 And what were the guidelines for those waivers?
09:39 And why wouldn't we just clear the people that need them?
09:41 And I'll leave it at that.