The Big 12 backs proposal to prohibit violent transfers

In the wake of Baylor defensive end Sam Ukwuachu’s guilty verdict for sexually assaulting a former Baylor soccer player, the Big 12 conference has unanimously voted on a measure that would prohibit any school from accepting transfers with a history of violence at the players’ previous school.

The Big 12 wasn’t the first conference to adopt this measure, however. The SEC passed similar legislation this year that would prevent its schools from accepting transfers that had been dismissed for domestic violence, sexual assault, or the like during any phase of a case.

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The SEC took swift action following defensive lineman transfer Jonathan Taylor who was arrested for domestic violence while at Georgia, and then accepted as a transfer at Alabama shortly after. While that particular case was dropped due to the accuser recanting the charges, it was still one of the best pieces of legislation a conference had enacted in a long, long time, and certainly set the bar for other conferences to follow suit.

Ukwuachu, 22, played for the Boise State Broncos as a freshmen in 2012, but was dismissed from the team shortly after where he transferred to Baylor. While Ukwuachu was at Boise State, he hit and choked an ex-girlfriend who shared that testimony during the recent trial. However, according to Boise State, the allegations weren’t reported. So while he wasn’t charged for the incident at Boise State, Baylor head football coach Art Briles alleges that the Baylor program wasn’t made aware of the incident, and the reasons for Ukwuachu’s dismissal were not disclosed.

According to Boise State,

"“The incidents and factors that contributed to Sam Ukwuachu’s dismissal from the Boise State football team had nothing to do with accusations of any sexual assaults or with accusations that he physically assaulted any women,” said Boise State representatives in a statement. “However, federal laws protecting privacy prohibit Boise State from releasing information about what did result in his dismissal from the Boise State University football team.Boise State University never received any reports nor had any knowledge of Sam Ukwuachu being involved in any accusations of sexual assault before or during his time at Boise State.”"

We may never know the full extent of the conversations between Briles and former Boise State head coach Chris Petersen, but Peterson was adamant of full disclosure with Ukwuachu’s situation to Briles.

Last week, Ukwuachu was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years of probation plus 400 hours of community service despite recommendations of up to 20 years in prison upon conviction of sexually assaulting the Baylor soccer player — a former student-athlete whose dream of playing for the Bears was shattered before it even began. If you click the link provided, be warned, as the story contains graphic and disturbing details on the incident.

Per NCAA transfer rules, Ukwuachu never played a down for Baylor as he sat out for the 2013 season and was suspended after being formally accused in 2014 of sexual assault. Baylor has been under heavy fire lately from every angle about how the private school that’s typically lauded on its strong Christian convictions could allow a student-athlete to transfer with even a microscopic trace of known violence.

Briles has since responded with this statement,

"“I was contacted by Coach Petersen at Boise State in spring 2013 and he told me he had a player from Texas who needed to get closer to home and that he thought our program would be a good spot for him. I know and respect Coach Petersen and he would never recommend a student-athlete to Baylor that he didn’t believe in. In our discussion, he did not disclose that there had been violence toward women, but he did tell me of a rocky relationship with his girlfriend which contributed to his depression. The only disciplinary action I was aware of were team-related issues, insubordination of coaches and missing practice.In addition, I talked with Tony Heath, his high school coach, who gave us a great recommendation.As required with any transfer to Baylor, Boise State acknowledged that he was not suspended due to any institutional disciplinary reasons and further that he was eligible for competition if he chose to return to Boise State.”"

While the Big 12 conference is adopting a plan similarly to the SEC’s policy against allowing violent transfers, legislation still needs to be drafted and examined thoroughly through several committees before athletic directors can approve or alter the policy.

Texas head football coach Charlie Strong took the announcement of this proposal further when he all but said a players’ career should end immediately after the first strike,

"“You know what, I look at it like this,” Said Strong. “I have a player here at the University of Texas and look what he has. He has everything. He’s on scholarship, he’s playing at the highest level, he gets to go compete at the highest level, and everything. The facilities, the resources are here for him. Now, if he can’t do what we ask him to do and if for some reason he’s dismissed from this program, I don’t know why he deserves a second chance to go to somewhere like Florida.”"

Whatever your opinions on Strong are, it’s hard to disagree with him there.

The timeline for the proposal to become law in the Big 12 is still to-be-determined, however, considering how this case was handled, it would behoove the conference to expedite this.

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