Dr. Ed Ray, Oregon State president, is seeking to ban transfers in the Pac-12 for student-athletes who have “serious” conduct issues on their records. He will be proposing the ban in November to the other presidents within the Pac-12, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian.
Ray told The Oregonian, “There ought to be a way to set guidelines that approach what seems intuitively right and sensible.”
The Pac-12 presidents were approached by sex-assault victim Brenda Tracy, who has asked them to collectively work towards a proposal that will curtail violent acts of aggression on college campuses.
“We need to stop transferring around student-athletes with serious criminal issues,” said Tracy. “Athleticism shouldn’t trump safety. If you’re recruiting an athlete, why aren’t you looking at criminal history?”
While the conference doesn’t officially “have a conference position” on the upcoming proposal, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott says, “It’s an appropriate conversation to have.”
Canzano reports Tracy’s appeal is being met with enthusiasm “from Oregon State, Oregon, Cal and Arizona State.”
She’s not stopping with the Pac-12, however.
“Everybody is going to have this rule,” Tracy said. “We don’t want the Pac 12 to turn into a dumping ground for transfers with issues. There are plenty of kids who are great athletes without conduct issues.”
For his part, Dr. Ray says it’s “tricky” to put into effect a rule that would ban student-athletes with conduct issues but vows to do what he can.
“Perhaps we can require disclosure of criminal backgrounds for all transfer students who receive scholarships whether for athletics or something else. I will keep working on this.”
It’s kind of strange that these kinds of conversations haven’t already occurred. However, as many are aware, too often in all levels of competition talent trumps morality.