Rubio asks NCAA to reconsider FSU football player being denied hardship waiver
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., sent a letter to the NCAA asking them to reconsider their decision after a football player at Florida State University was denied a hardship waiver after moving homes due to his mother’s health issues.
Darrell Jackson Jr., a defensive tackle for FSU, transferred to the school this past offseason to be closer to his ailing mother, as reported by ESPN.
Jackson reportedly played for University of Maryland in 2021 and transferred to University of Miami in 2022, therefore needing to petition for a waiver since he already transferred once before.
The denial will require Jackson to sit out during the 2023 season.
Rubio sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker and said he commends Jackson for putting “family first.”
“Strong communities are built from strong families,” Rubio said. “I commend Darrell for his decision to put family first and move home. The NCAA’s decision to deny Darrell’s waiver request sends a wrong message to our young adults when confronted with family health.”
Rubio said Jackson is experiencing “every family’s worst nightmare.”
“A sick parent is tough on grown children. To have to go through this while still in college is especially difficult. Strong communities are built from strong families. I commend Darrell for his decision to put family first and move home,” Rubio said.
“NOTHING is more important than family But when Darrell Jackson Jr. decided to transfer to @FSUFootball to be closer to his ailing mother the @NCAA denied his waiver & is going to force him to sit out the year They need to reconsider this arbitrary & terrible decision,” Rubio said.
Rubio said this decision sends a “wrong message to our young adults when confronted with family health.”
“Darrell’s hardship application deserves a second look. If this is not what hardship waivers are for, then what is?” Rubio asked.
Jackson said he was “hurt” by the decision.
“I know what I came home for […] I came home for my mom, so I’m just trying to go through it and be here for my mom,” Jackson said. “She thinks it’s her fault, but it’s not.”
Head Coach Mike Novell said the NCAA gave a reason for the decision, but did not provide it to the outlet.
“NCAA is going to make the choice that they’re just not going to do that,” Novell said. “I think when you look, we recruited Darrell a year prior, he made the choice to go somewhere else and for whatever reason that was, and that’s where coming back home to help his mom, he’s a remarkable young man.”
“He loves this program, loves his team.”
Novell said he is “extremely disappointed” in the decision.
The NCAA reportedly said that it would be “tightening the criteria for awarding hardship waivers, with being closer to ailing family members no longer standing as a focal point in granting waivers.”
