Nick Saban wasn't in favor of SEC's misconduct transfer ban

Alabama coach Nick Saban isn't a fan of the SEC's rule banning transfers who have been in trouble at their previous schools. Though he cited two curious players as examples for his stance against the rule.

Before his charity golf tournament on Thursday, Saban was asked if he was in favor of the rule. Players with "serious misconduct" issues at their former schools are now not allowed to transfer to any of the 14 SEC schools. Serious misconduct is considered sexual assault, sexual violence and domestic violence.

The rule was put into place in the wake of Jonathan Taylor's dismissal from Alabama. The former Georgia defensive tackle, who had a domestic violence case pending against him in Georgia, transferred to Alabama and was arrested for domestic violence earlier this year.

Here's his response via Al.com. If you don't immediately see why it's curious, we'll point it out soon.

"No," Saban said, "but I'm supportive of the league. I understand what they're trying to do, and I was really [looking] to clearly define exactly why — or what — I thought convicted and felonies should be involved in the rule, and I guess I got sort of misinterpreted. But one of the points that I tried to make was Cam Newton being in the SEC and Nick Marshall being in the SEC benefited the SEC, and it benefited those players.

"So if those players were not allowed to play in the SEC they'd be playing someplace else. What I'm most concerned about, I just think that we should have the same rules in the SEC as all the other Big 5 schools have because now we're not just talking about the SEC. We're talking about having a playoff — no different than the NFL. One division in the NFL doesn't have different rules, different salary caps, different anything because the league knows that parity is the best competitive balance that you can create.

"So when we pass rules that other people that we have to compete against — and if that is really what's best for the young people that we're dealing with here, the student-athletes that we're dealing with – then it should be best for everyone, or otherwise we shouldn't do it. So I'm hopeful that some kind of way we'll be able to get the Big 5 together — under the NCAA's supervision — to try to create rules that we all see in the best interest of student-athletes, which I think we need to be thinking about here: Why do we do this? It is to benefit the student-athletes, to promote opportunities for the student-athletes.

"Now, they have a responsibility and obligation to do the right thing. But what I see happening a lot is people don't get convicted of things. They're condemned as soon as they get arrested, and I'm not sure that's fair because I don't think that's what our country was really built on."

Saban has clearly thought out most of his stance on the rule. And there are some valid discussion points from the things he brings up. However, those things worthy of a conversation completely get lost when he cites Newton and Marshall, two former Auburn quarterbacks.

Why? The new rule likely would not have applied to either quarterback.

Newton originally enrolled at Florida and transferred to Auburn from a junior college. He was at the junior college following his arrest for theft of a laptop at UF in 2008. Marshall started his career at Georgia and was dismissed along with two other players in 2012 for an unspecified violation of team rules. He played at a community college before transferring to Auburn.

If Marshall's offense at Georgia fell under the jurisdiction of the new rule, there likely would have been charges filed.

Because they're both Auburn players, Tiger fans are likely going to see Saban's comments as some sort of anti-Auburn rhetoric even though he complimented them. And while those feelings are likely a harsh overreaction, you can see where it would come from given the circumstances surrounding either player.

These comments aren't the first time Saban has mentioned the need for the same rules in all Power Five leagues. And they're likely not the last, either. Hopefully he uses better examples next time.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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