Transfers happen all the time in major college athletics, and frankly, most go by without so much as a raised eyebrow. Athletes transfer in, athletes transfer out, and save for superstar caliber recruits or top-level talent, most transfers just simply get reported and forgotten about, assuming they ever get reported at all. Leave it to Ball State’s newest acquisition in the transfer game, offensive lineman Kurt Wermers to blow that pattern totally off the map.
Kurt Wermers
When Wermers’ transition out of the Michigan program last week made headlines, it wasn’t because he was leaving. It was because of the reasons he gave for leaving and the totally uncharacteristic evaluation he gave. Wermers tossed the staff and new athletes at UM under the bus by claiming these new sorts of personalities and leadership weren’t necessarily appealing to him. Said Wermers, “I really didn’t get along with the new coaches. They were bringing in a lot of different kids that were not my kind of crowd. Coach Carr’s staff was a whole different ballgame. It was like a family. But when Rodriguez came in it was a whole different feeling. It was more of a business. I figured I’d get out while I could.” Recruit leaves, recruit pops off, fan sites and friends of the program get pissed… end of story. Or so I had hoped.
ESPN’s Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg added a whole new chapter to this saga on Monday when he posted that Wermers didn’t leave because of his new found teammates… he left because of his never-found academic success. Rittenberg sites “sources with knowledge of the situation” when revealing, “Wermers was already out. His academic struggles would have prevented him from suiting up with the Wolverines. Wermers wasn’t even enrolled in summer school at the time of his departure.” Oh… fabulous.
This entire situation stinks to high heaven, and frankly, there are only two possible reasons for this latest installment of Michigan-fueled drama. In scenario one, the accusation is false. Wermers was having no academic issues and this was simply a case of return sour grapes as a punishment for the original sour grape salvo lobbed across the Wolverine bow. This scenario seems incredibly challenging to believe. In scenario two, the accusation is true, in which case a young man’s academic integrity and general character has now been assaulted at the very least. The sticking point for me is who thought it necessary to let this sort of information come to light.
That’s also the question on the mind of MGoBlog’s Brian Cook in his commentary:
I’m sure Wermers’ academic status is common knowledge in a certain circle of folks close to the program, any one of whom could be a source credible enough for Rittenberg to go with. I hope none of the coaches were peeved enough to be one of them.
I hope so too.
RichRod... Meet FERPA
If it was a Michigan coach or administrator, it was a douchebag move at best, and totally criminal at worst. Yes, Wermers took a shot at UM and Rich Rodriguez. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that Wermers is a 19-year old kid who may be embarrassed that he wasn’t up to snuff academically or athletically. That’s a bitter pill to swallow that could very easily morph into a case of covering ones ass however possible. For Michigan to take a shot of their own means they are no better than a pissed off teenager. Sad, really.
As for the criminal piece of this puzzle, let me introduce you to FERPA. The Federal Government has created a little thing known as FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to protect the students who attend college. As anyone associated with higher ed, as I am, will tell you, FERPA is no joke, and one of the strictest guidelines about what a university employee can and cannot share. Basically, what you can share boils down to whether or not the student has or has not graduated or whether they are or are not enrolled. That’s it. For anyone associated with UM to give specific details about Wermers academic success or failure without his written consent violates federal law and opens themselves and the school up to litigation should Wermers choose to push the issue and find out who exactly spilled his academic beans.
Whether or not it was “illegal” and a full breach of FERPA is for an attorney to comment on, but I will say this, and then I, like hopefully everyone involved, will be finished with it. Wermers was a kid acting like a kid. His actions were regrettable, sure, but no reason for a major university to act vindictive, childish, and exceptionally classless when it was far from needed. Michigan likes to come across like an athletic program and institution of higher learning that is far superior to its peers in performance and actions. You would think they would be above sullying their name or reputation by engaging in a war of words with a newly transferred MAC player no matter what he said.
Filed under: Ball State, Big 10, Blog Buddies
What he said.