Nobody said they didn't earn it and the difference is those other endeavors are academic pursuits which is what college is about. Athletics are not; and don't give me they're training for their career when we know that the # who actually do so is a minuscule percent of college athletes. So again athletes are not denied the option to pursue their choice of educational opportunities where they want anymore than anyone else. It is a privilege to play college sports, and yes as with most privileges you have to earn them and they come with special considerations and rules , that's what privileges are about. Not everybody gets them, you do earn them, but they come with responsibilities and rules. Now,what rules are reasonable is the point of this argument, but don't act like there aren't tons of other rules that dictate who, under what circumstances, to what degree, where, etc that an athlete gets to participate in their sport.
And your use of the term "earned" is pretty subjective because it implies it is owed to them which it's not. The University extends the offer, they choose who they want, they don't owe it to any one. I'm all for athletes having rights and choice, but that doesn't mean I think they should not also have responsibilities and rules . As in many things in a free society as ours , the balance between the rights of the individual vs. the impact on the whole is always a tricky topic.
I like the fact a player can transfer and the # of reasons are varied and who can say one is more valid for that individual than another is. But think about what you're opening up here. If I'm a coach at a P-5 I'm going to leave 1-2 scholy's open[ I can get pretty high level walkons to cover me in noncon if i have an injury or 2] and I'll be pretty clear about my openings so I don't have to tamper individually; then at semester break if I'm
needing help to make a NCAA run, I'll just grab a couple top level players from some where else. It's just like the trading deadline in pro sports, cause the kids got the right to go where he wants , right. And if you put a rule on that, well that's restricting his right because can't regular students transfer at semester.