Another Wolverine transfer is seemingly accusing Michigan of standing between him and immediate eligibility at his new program.
Former Michigan defensive back Myles Sims did not receive immediate eligibility from the NCAA after transferring to Georgia Tech, and his family believes Michigan is at least partially to blame.
From Ken Sugiura of the AJC:
“The disappointment is in knowing that they included just a few words outside of what we said to mislead the NCAA in their decision-making,” Katrina Sims, Myles’ mother, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. “Whether that weighed in heavily or not on the documentation that we provided, we take issue with that.”
...
They said that they told Harbaugh that they had decided that Myles should transfer and be closer to home for personal reasons and shared nothing more.
“We further expressed gratitude for the opportunity that the coach had afforded our son and we wished him the best going forward,” Katrina said.
However, they said that the statement that Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel submitted to the NCAA as part of the case documentation – Tech’s compliance department showed Myles a copy of it, according to the parents – stated that he had instead left Michigan for a fresh start and for playing time.
...
Atlanta-based attorney Tom Mars, who has handled the waiver requests for dozens of college athletes, said that if the circumstances were as the Sims family contended, “then I think that would probably have the potential to affect the outcome because it might call into question what really prompted the transfer.”
Sims transferred due to "personal reasons," which his family did not disclose publicly, but told the AJC they submitted documentation to the NCAA from doctors supportive of their case.
This, of course, comes after Michigan transfer James Hudson – who transferred to Cincinnati due to mental health concerns – and his family accused Michigan of being uncooperative during his own waiver process in which his immediate eligibility was denied.
Hudson voiced his displeasure on Twitter after his denial. The story found new legs a few weeks later when Jim Harbaugh appeared to publicly question the legitimacy of his mental health concerns, sparking outrage from Hudson's mother. In the weeks that followed, Michigan head coach and Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell traded fiery statements about the situation in the media.
In both cases, Michigan maintains that they did not appose the waiver requests and followed standard policy.
