By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association recently gave in to heavy pressure to follow college athletics into the swamp of “one and done” by changing its transfer rules.
Supposedly done primarily to protect athletes who lack opportunity to play at their current high schools, the changes also embrace the “transfer portal” culture which has kidnapped college sports.
Perhaps the most noticeable change would allow a varsity athlete to transfer without sitting out a year if they participated in less than 20% of their team’s regular-season contests in the prior year.
I pause here to point out that a student-athlete who gets insufficient playing time at one school likely won’t automatically find stardom at another. This rule change surely won’t make anyone faster or stronger, but it might reduce the whining of parents who don’t want their offspring to sit on the bench all or most of the season.
The official reason for this “minimal participation” exception is to create what amounts to a loophole for students who aren’t seeing enough playing time to escape the existing transfer rule.
Graciously, the KHSAA claims the rule change will prevent students who are struggling to earn a spot on a team from being penalized if and when they seek better opportunities (translated as more playing time) at another school.
To be fair, this transfer rule change does acknowledge the reality that parents are increasingly utilizing every legal means, including bona fide changes of address, to secure athletic eligibility at new schools.
By formalizing exceptions, the KHSAA says it hopes to manage the soaring number of transfer requests while maintaining some “guard rails” against the formation of “super teams.”
Let’s not kid ourselves. We already have those powerhouse sports programs that win state championships virtually every year. However, the KHSAA wants us to believe that the rules are changing to reflect the modern emphasis on student choice.
Who knows, after the new central high school opens in Carter County, likely with the highest enrollment in the 16th Region, we might be paying high school athletes like they do in colleges and the professional leagues.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
