With the practice of medical redshirting seemingly on the rise -- or, at least, the subject of more reports than it’s been in the past -- the Wall Street Journal aimed a critical spotlight last week on what some consider a nefarious form of roster manipulation, with most of the harsh light placed squarely on the Alabama football program under Nick Saban.
The piece quoted three former Tide players -- one who describes himself as “still kind of bitter” -- who were among the 12 medical redshirts given out by the Saban-led program since 2007. That number is nearly half of the estimated 25 medical redshirts handed out by SEC schools the past three years.
Medical redshirts are designed for players who are no longer able to play football due to injury, but still allows them to receive the financial aid that permits them to continue their schooling as if they were on scholarship. At least one of the former Tide players interviewed for the piece claims he was still medically able to play, but was urged -- or pressured -- by the school to take the medical waiver in order to clear a roster spot for better players. With scholarship limits set at 85, and the pressure to build and sustain a successful football program higher than it’s ever been, roster spots are at a premium, and there’s likely no program in the nation that doesn’t look to “massage” the outer edges of NCAA rules as it pertains to how a roster can be constructed.
When it comes to medical redshirts, however, Alabama’s head coach says that’s out of his hands.
“I didn’t really read the article. I didn’t see the article,” Nick Saban said when asked about the Wall Street Journal article Wednesday. “But we don’t make the decision about medicals. I have nothing to do with that. Those are medical decision made by our medical staff. I think we have one of the finest medical staffs in the country.”
Saban dismissed claims by his former players that the medical redshirts were given to clear roster spots for better players, claiming that there were legitimate medical reasons for what’s occurred.
“I don’t have any question about the fact every player we have given a medical to, it’s been because of the medical opinion of the medical staff,” Saban said. “Those guys should not continue to play football because it would put their future in tremendous risk.
“Those decisions are always made in the best interest of the player. Whether the player agrees with that or not, I can’t control. I don’t make the decision. They don’t make the decision as players. That’s why we have a medical staff.”
Do schools such as Alabama err so close to the side of medical caution that the medical redshirt practice takes on a “shady” hue? Perhaps, but there’s a pretty damn positive side for any players who may feel jilted because they were “subjected” to such “indignity": even as they will not be allowed to remain a member of the football program, they will still get a free education.
Or, if they truly feel that they are medically able, they can transfer to another school to continue their football career.
Either way, they still get a free education.
With all of this medical redshirt talk and the sudden surge in wailing and gnashing of teeth when it comes to paying college football players, that’s something that unfortunately seems to get lost in all of the bluster.