Transfer Portal Does Disservice to Culture and Commitment

As March Madness has given way to the April Final Four and the championship games in the next two days for NCAA women’s and men’s basketball, it’s a good time to make the case to abolish the transfer portal. I’ve never been a fan of it, and the reason is simple: commitment matters.

While transferring from one school to another has always been a thing, it should be a rare thing, and it should almost be nonexistent for individuals who received scholarships. The transfer portal makes abandoning a commitment to an institution the rule, rather than the exception. And some athletes are doing it numerous times.

Someone just recently commented on my YouTube video that these individuals should have as much freedom as possible. Nay! I say “freedom” is learning how to honor your word, recognizing that sacrifices were made to bring you to the college. Your scholarship means someone else didn’t get one. College has become a place of indoctrination, but in theory if nothing else, it’s supposed to be where young people prepare for their futures. Futures should not be spent walking away from a situation because it’s difficult or a friend left or the coach is too tough or the grass to get to a championship is greener somewhere else. We already have a society where people leave a marriage when it’s no longer convenient to stay, leave a church because someone didn’t call their name, leave a job after the boss issued correction, leave a friendship rather than iron out a misunderstanding.