The NCAA’s Inaction Has Left South Carolina’s Rahsul Faison Without the Justice and Opportunity He Rightfully Deserves
Rahsul Faison should be preparing for the biggest chapter of his college football career. Instead, the South Carolina running back finds himself stuck in limbo—his athletic future caught in the bureaucratic purgatory created by the NCAA’s inability to adapt swiftly and justly to the evolving landscape of college athletics. Faison’s story is not just one of talent and determination. It’s also a glaring example of how an outdated and inconsistent regulatory body can derail a student-athlete’s career with silence, delay, and negligence.
The NCAA, an institution meant to protect and govern the interests of student-athletes, has in recent years developed a pattern of uneven enforcement and unclear guidelines that punish the very players it was designed to serve. And in Faison’s case, that systemic failure has hit particularly hard.
Faison, a walk-on turned scholarship player at South Carolina, worked his way up with effort, grit, and relentless persistence. Originally from New Jersey, his football journey wasn’t smooth or predictable. Like many others who didn’t emerge as five-star recruits from powerhouse high schools, he had to grind for every opportunity. When he arrived at South Carolina, he wasn’t handed a roster spot. He earned it. When he finally made it onto the field, it was a result of not just talent, but patience, discipline, and trust in the system.
That system, however, has now betrayed him.
Rahsul Faison entered the transfer portal with the intention of furthering his playing career. Given the volatility of college rosters, changing coaching staffs, and new offensive systems, transferring has become a normal and often necessary decision for student-athletes. But for Faison, the process hasn’t been normal at all. Despite meeting the criteria and submitting his request in a timely fashion, the NCAA has failed to grant him eligibility to play at his new school. No official explanation has been given. No consistent timeline has been communicated. And most importantly, no accountability has been shown.
The NCAA’s failure to resolve Faison’s status has not only put his playing future on hold but also affected his academics, his mental health, and his financial situation. He is currently without the scholarship aid and benefits that come with being a fully eligible athlete. He has no clarity on whether he will be able to suit up in the fall, whether he should continue training full-speed or pivot to a backup academic plan, and whether he will be given a fair chance to make an impact on the field again.
This isn’t just about one player. This is about the NCAA’s broader failure to adapt in a rapidly changing era of college sports.
With the rise of the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities, players are no longer bound by the same constraints that once made the NCAA a dominant gatekeeper. Yet the institution clings to inconsistent enforcement practices that often appear arbitrary or overly punitive. One high-profile player might receive an immediate eligibility waiver, while another—like Faison—waits in the dark with no feedback or recourse. The lack of transparency and fairness in the NCAA’s transfer eligibility process has become one of the most glaring issues in modern collegiate athletics.
What makes Faison’s case particularly egregious is the silence. In an age where communication is instant and student-athletes are increasingly empowered to share their stories, the NCAA remains an opaque fortress, offering no public accountability or clear process for review. Appeals take weeks, sometimes months. Requests are either lost in bureaucracy or denied without explanation. The inconsistency is maddening.
Even worse, these delays often disproportionately hurt players who aren’t headliners. Faison, while a valued member of the South Carolina football program, doesn’t carry the national media buzz of a Heisman candidate or projected first-round NFL pick. And that’s part of the problem—the NCAA has shown a disturbing tendency to respond quicker or more leniently when a player has national attention or powerful legal representation. The average player—the walk-on turned scholarship contributor, the underdog like Faison—often ends up forgotten in the shuffle.
Coaches across the country have expressed frustration with the NCAA’s lack of urgency on these matters. Rosters are hard to manage when you don’t know which players will be eligible come fall. Player development suffers when talented athletes are left without clarity or direction. The teams hurt the most are often the ones trying to build depth and develop homegrown talent. In other words, programs like South Carolina, which rely on players like Faison to step up and play important rotational roles, are the ones who get hit hardest.
And then there’s the personal toll. For Faison, this isn’t just about football—it’s about identity, opportunity, and the pursuit of a dream. Imagine working your entire life to reach a Division I program, earning a spot on the field, only to be sidelined—not by injury or failure, but by red tape. This is not a system that supports student-athletes. It’s a system that traps them.
Mental health professionals working with college athletes have increasingly warned about the emotional toll that eligibility issues cause. The stress of uncertainty, the constant waiting, the fear that one’s career might be over before it ever truly began—these factors weigh heavily. In Faison’s case, he’s had to keep training without knowing if it’s leading anywhere. He’s had to make personal and financial decisions without any guarantee of what his athletic future holds.
And yet, despite all this, he continues to handle the situation with grace. He hasn’t lashed out publicly. He hasn’t demanded headlines or stirred controversy. He’s remained focused and respectful, hoping the NCAA would do the right thing.
But so far, they haven’t.
What will it take for the NCAA to change? Rahsul Faison’s story is one of many. For every high-profile case that gets media attention, there are dozens like his—athletes who fall through the cracks because the system lacks consistency, compassion, and a functioning process for appeals. If the NCAA continues to prioritize bureaucracy over humanity, it risks further alienating the very players it claims to protect.
College athletics are evolving. Players have more agency, fans have more insight, and coaches have more tools than ever before. But the governing body that oversees it all is still stuck in a previous era. The NCAA must wake up to the new reality and modernize its policies—especially those dealing with transfer eligibility. That means establishing clear timelines, communicating with players and programs, and eliminating the arbitrary nature of waiver approvals.
It also means prioritizing equity. Every player, regardless of ranking, reputation, or recruiting stars, should be treated with fairness and dignity. Faison may not be a household name, but his contributions to his team, his effort, and his integrity make him just as deserving of timely resolution as any other athlete in the country.
Until the NCAA starts treating every student-athlete with the respect they deserve, stories like Rahsul Faison’s will continue to surface—and continue to expose the cracks in a system long overdue for overhaul.
Faison should be lacing up his cleats, studying his playbook, and preparing for game day. Instead, he’s stuck waiting for an answer that should’ve come long ago. The NCAA has dropped the ball. Now it’s time to pick it up—and finally do right by Rahsul Faison.
