Arkansas transfer DE Mataio Soli to petition for medical retirement

[Irse]

Good luck to him.

[Palolo_2LA]

Was he injured when the season started? He seemed to lack quickness and explosiveness. He was a non factor and was buried on almost every play against Vandy from my view at the game.

Either way, best wishes to the young man.

[kapakahi]

Was he injured when the season started?

He seemed healthy throughout Fall Camp in that he never sat out any Fall Camp practices that I can recall.

[TheDuke]

If you do have a serious injury that causes retirement why do you have to petition for retirement? You would think that medically it would have been determined to be a cause for retirement and he would have been forced to retire.

[kapakahi]

If you do have a serious injury that causes retirement why do you have to petition for retirement? You would think that medically it would have been determined to be a cause for retirement and he would have been forced to retire.

My understanding is that a medical retirement is essentially a mutual decision/agreement reached between both the player and the academic institution….i.e., cannot be forced upon either party by the other party….whereby the player retires from competition yet retains their academic scholarship (to be maintained by the academic institution through completion of an undergraduate degree but is no longer associated with any athletic sport under the athletic department).

[My3Cats]

If you do have a serious injury that causes retirement why do you have to petition for retirement? You would think that medically it would have been determined to be a cause for retirement and he would have been forced to retire.

My understanding is that a medical retirement is essentially a mutual decision/agreement reached between both the player and the academic institution….i.e., cannot be forced upon either party by the other party….whereby the player retires from competition yet retains their academic scholarship (to be maintained by the academic institution through completion of an undergraduate degree but is no longer associated with any athletic sport under the athletic department).

I concur with kapakahi. Another way to look at it is if the athlete "retires" and just quits the team, he/she will not only lose the athletic scholarship, but also the opportunity to instead gain an academic scholarship that will pay for their remaining education at the school.

[TheDuke]

I agree it would be a mutual agreement. So why isn’t it agreed and he medically retires. In most cases all medical issues are private. Why would there be a public petition before the medical retirement is granted.

[kapakahi]

I agree it would be a mutual agreement. So why isn’t it agreed and he medically retires. In most cases all medical issues are private. Why would there be a public petition before the medical retirement is granted.

All medical issues are supposed to be private.....unless the assigned beat writer (not the team nor player) makes it public.