Milton High School’s boys basketball team swept through the postseason tournament winning games by 19, 16, 35 and 22 points and they were heavy favorites to win a second straight state championship Friday night. The Eagles’ regular season games in Class AAAAA were even more-one-sided.
It is an all-star team, not a true public school team. Two of Milton’s starters grew up in the neighborhood, so to speak, but then their all-star friends from around the Atlanta area decided it would be a swell thing to transfer to Milton and create a “super” team.
It is not a swell thing.
The adults have allowed a seriously unlevel playing field in a game for kids. This team of all-stars, Division I-caliber players, are pounding typical high school teams.
Where is the challenge, the competition? Milton beats up local teams who are at a disadvantage. I’m not impressed.
The same thing is happening in other states. A school, a coach or parents decide they are going to gather as much talent as they can on one squad and smear as many teams as they can to get a trophy.
I did a story for USA TODAY in 2006 where the 50 state high school athletic associations were surveyed about the issue of transfers. Thirty-nine said they were tightening the rules trying to keep star athletes from flocking to one school.
In some states, if it is determined that students transferred for athletic reasons, they would be automatically declared ineligible and made to sit one season. Georgia needs the same rule. If a player transfers for athletic reasons, they need to sit for a season.
When I read the comments of one of the parents of Milton players that there was no harm, no foul in players transferring for athletic reasons, I couldn’t let it slide. There is plenty of harm.
The parent claimed when a child transfers from a poor academic school to a good academic school everyone cheers. So why should people mind if the child transfers for athletic reasons?
Here’s why. The mission of schools is academics, not athletics. Athletics are a privilege, not a right. Academic need is far superior than athletic need. Kids transferring for academic reasons are usually escaping a poor learning environment.
Here’s the other reason: fairness. An all-star team congregates at a school and wins by 20 points and gives the appearance of a heroic deed. It’s not heroic. There are coaches that are fired because they can’t compete against the schools that recruit.
Think also about the kids in the community who played basketball in the eighth, ninth and 10th grade who suddenly got moved aside with kids transferring into a school.
I’ve talked to former Milton players who came up through the feeder program and got to their junior and senior years and then suddenly found themselves cut or on the end of the bench because a group of all-stars transferred in and wanted to collect as many wins as they could.
Is that just the turmoil of life? Perhaps, but it still stinks.
Ray Glier is a longtime sportswriter in metro Atlanta.
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