Georgia quarterback Justin Fields is reportedly exploring the possibility of transferring after the season, but he would need to sit out all of 2019 before becoming eligible to play again unless he can get a hardship waiver. It is not out of the question that the freshman may be able to obtain one.
As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated pointed out on Tuesday, the NCAA’s new rules for Division I undergraduate transfers state that a player should not be forced to sit out a year if his situation meets a number of conditions, the first of which reads as follows:
“The transfer is due to documented mitigating circumstances that are outside the student-athlete’s control and directly impact the health, safety and well-being of the student-athlete.”
If you remember, Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and several other former Ole Miss players successfully argued last season that they should not have to sit out a year because of the school’s bowl ban, which the players themselves had nothing to do with. The NCAA granted them waivers.
Earlier this season when Georgia was playing against Tennessee, Bulldogs baseball player Adam Sasser was overheard by other students using a racial slur to describe Fields when he yelled “put the n***** in!” Sasser was dismissed from the baseball team after the incident was investigated by Georgia’s Equal Opportunity Office, and he later issued an apology on social media.
Thank you #BulldawgNation and I’m sorry. pic.twitter.com/KY4byfxyEf
— Adam Sasser (@AdamSasser) October 3, 2018
Staples notes that Fields could probably successfully argue that his “safety and well-being” have been impacted by having another student-athlete at the university hurl a racial slur at him in public. While Georgia could refute the claim and point out that Fields’ younger sister Jaiden signed on to play softball at Georgia following the incident, doing so would make the university look bad.
It makes little sense for Fields to transfer from Georgia if he has to sit out a year, especially since Jake Fromm is likely to declare for the NFL Draft after next season. Being able to obtain a hardship waiver, however, would make his decision a lot easier.
