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WVU Player Defends Teammates in Transfer Portal, Tries to Talk Sense Into Angry Fans

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1 year ago

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WVU Football Brandon Yates

Even though WVU fans were claiming to be prepared for a mass exodus after a coaching change, seeing numerous Mountaineers hit the transfer portal has caused some to lash out at the departing players. And upon seeing how his teammates and friends are being treated, WVU offensive lineman Brandon Yates decided to try to talk some sense into any fan upset and calm down the angst.

“I also want to iterate that, even though some of my guys are hitting the portal isn’t because they don’t love West Virginia or Rich Rod or that they are soft. We are a program that loves to work. You don’t come to West Virginia without wanting to work hard,” said Yates on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

In that message alone, Yates tried to respond to those arguing the players exiting the West Virginia program are weak and are leaving to avoid enduring what Rich Rodriguez will demand from them.

“Mike Joe (Joseph) is the best in the business and pours toughness into us everyday. It also comes down to the Individual as well. The people in the portal are choosing the best path for them. Don’t scrutinize them for viewing options,” added Yates.

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Yates believes, and knows from firsthand conversations with his teammates, that every player has to make a personal decision he feels is best for his life and career.

Yates even said as much to several fans replying to his posts, hinting that the players in the portal could be simply testing the waters to see what the market is like, could feel they don’t fit the system of the new coaching staff, could feel the coach that recruited them is gone so that changes where their allegiances lie or could, obviously, be seeking more NIL money elsewhere.

To be fair, Yates did offer a response to fan who suggested this is all just about money.

“I wouldn’t say money. I would say it’s just the fit and see what’s the best for them. I would say again we worked hard. Mike Joe is the best in the business.”

While many will just ignore what Yates is saying, everyone should listen. Not only is he likely just conveying what he knows to be true from talking to the players directly, but sending a “you’re dead to me” message to a any player for simply deciding to enter the portal is both wrong and counterproductive.

For starters, just entering the portal does not mean a player is gone. Any player in there portal can return to their previous school, and that exact scenario has happened far more often than is even advertised across the country, granted it is still a rare turn of events overall.

But most importantly, and like it or not, college sports is a business now. It just is. Playing football is a literal job to some players, no different than what any job is to a regular person. Obviously, playing football is not a normal job and can be much more lucrative than what a normal person experiences at work, but it is a job just the same.

There’s also another end to the transfer portal debate people tend to ignore – it’s always possible a departing player was told it’s in their best interest to find a new home. Coaches often use the portal as a way to release a player, sometimes even when that player doesn’t want to leave.

It also needs said there are thousands of athletes in the football transfer portal across the country, and most of them are not super-stars destined to make six figures in NIL in college or millions in the NFL.

So before hating a player for a decision they make, first ask yourself what you would do if a boss you like got fired, someone new you have no relationship came aboard and you were maybe offered a better opportunity elsewhere? Would you stay for loyalty or would you leave? Think about it.

Is it fair for you to ask a college athlete to show loyalty to a show when you would likely make the same decision if in their shoes?

For a related story, Mike Asti and Cody Nespor discussed which WVU players would best fit Rich Rodriguez on a recent episode of Mountaineer Report.

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