“In the case of Max Bielfeldt, he never wanted to leave Michigan. He redshirted as a freshman, stayed three more years, graduated from the School of Kinesiology as a redshirt junior and wanted to return for his final year of eligibility.
Beilein said no. Bielfeldt’s career at Michigan? Closing time.
You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.
Oh, and he can’t go to Indiana either.”
This is one of the reasons I will never buy the argument that college athletes are fairly compensated through their scholarships. Those can be yanked at any time, for virtually any reason. In this case, Michigan yanked this kids scholarship because they wanted to move him out of the way of a younger kid on the basketball team, and then wanted to control where he could transfer.
Thankfully the NCAA at least let him transfer to Indiana, since he’s already graduated and has one year of eligibility left. But it shouldn’t have come to this. If someone spends four years, one redshirt, at a program, graduates, does all the right things, etc. he should either find himself a part of the team for one last year, or free to play wherever he wants, like every other adult in the US. Michigan doesn’t own his basketball rights, and if they do, then this is not a collegiate sport.
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