Nick Saban on NCAA Transfer Portal: 'I'm for Whatever Benefits the Player'

Alabama head coach Nick Saban, a noted advocate for players' rights, is a big fan of the NCAA transfer portal.

"I'm for whatever benefits the player," Saban told reporters Tuesday.

Anyone who takes issue with Saban's comment only has to do a quick search to find out how much he is in favor of helping student-athletes. 

For instance, in May 2018, the legendary coach told reporters he didn't think it was fair to blame him for blocking Alabama players from transferring to programs in the SEC: 

"I don't think it should be on me. ... If we agree in the SEC at these meetings that we're going to have free agency in our league and everybody can go where they want to go when they graduate and that's what's best for the game, then I think that's what we should do. And Brandon Kennedy can go where he wants to go. But if we don't do that, why is it on me? Because we have a conference rule that says he can't do it. And he can do it but he's supposed to sit out for a year. So why is it on me? It's not even my decision.

"It's a conference rule. I always give people releases. And he has a release to go wherever he wants to go, but the conference rule says he can't go within the conference. So why is that on me? The Maurice Smith thing wasn't on me, either."

In 2017, Alabama blocked Smith's attempt to transfer to Georgia before the NCAA intervened. The same thing happened to Kennedy last year when he was interested in Auburn and Tennessee. 

But now that the NCAA has adopted the transfer portal, which lets programs around the country know when a student-athlete has interest in leaving their current school, Saban is all for letting players do what they believe is in their best interest.