Graphic: yorkulions.ca
Some unfortunate news for the York University Lions Women's Volleyball program. The CIS ruled on an OUA sanctioned forfeit of the squad's last match, an OUA quarter final game against RMC. The OUA had ruled the match a forfeit because The Lions had played transfer player Michelle Pierce. Pierce was a transfer player from The Windsor Lancers and as a transfer player, had to sit out a full year. Pierce did sit out the full year, that is not the violation being questioned. The violation committed is that every player that plays in a playoff match has to have played in or at least dressed for at least one regular season game. Because Pierce had to sit out a full year, she missed dressing for a regular season game by - two days.
York led the OUA for the entire season finishing with a record of 16-2 and they did this without the game play of Michelle Pierce. Both the transfer and the playoff roster rules seem fair. Rules like this are common in sports at both the professional and collegiate level. These rules are designed to help maintain balance and fairness when one player leaves one team to play for another. But there is something about this story that seems unfair.
Read the rest of the article after the jump.