SI Weighs on Edsall and Maryland's Hostage Taking

Another day, another great story slamming Maryland Coach Randy Edsall's decision to prevent Danny O'Brien, Max Garcia, and Mario Rowson from transferring to Vanderbilt. It's Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg is day in the box who covers much of the same ground others have trended. What I particularly like about Rosenberg's piece is he expands the universe of culpabilty for those holding these student-athletes hostage. That's right, Kevin Anderson and Maryland University President Wallace Loh , you're up.

The chronology Rosenberg sets up is compelling because it is yet more evidence of the hypocracy Maryland, Edsall, Anderson, and Loh are showing with their actions (and inactions).

But here's the best part, Maryland is preventing Danny O'Brien and others from transfering to Vanderbilt (to play for the coach who recruited them) while at the same time accepting transfers from New Mexico who are coming because Mike Locksley, the Terrapins new Offensive Cooridnator, was their head coach at New Mexico before being fired. Rosenberg's analysis:

Evidently, Maryland thinks it's perfectly fine for players to transfer into its program to play for a former coach, but terribly wrong for players to transfer out of its program to play for a former coach. There is no principle here. Just "educators" covering their butts.

And the NCAA says: Hey, that's Maryland's call. How ridiculous is that? The NCAA makes such a big deal about students accepting scholarships from a university, not a coach. Well, O'Brien wants to choose another university. Maryland won't let him, because of the coach.

As Rosenberg points out, O'Brien's only recourse, short of hiring a lawyer or going to the NCAA, is to try and publically shame Edsall, Anderson, and Loh into releasing him. As the coverage indicates, we are very supportive of public shaming here at the VSL. Still, Rosenberg gets it right when he says: "A college student should not have to do that. A major university should do what is right, instead of what's convenient. The University of Maryland should be better than the people who have been hired to run it."

If only it were so...