Tennessee Softball Coach Karen Weekly Issues Statement Amid Transfer Portal Departures
The transfer portal has been off the charts as of late, with tons of big names looking for better opportunities, and there are mixed opinions about the situation.
Tennessee head coach Karen Weekly has spoken out.
The veteran head coach praised the fact that female athletes are making more money, but explained that the real issue is tampering.
I think we can all agree on 2 things: 1) women making money in sports is awesome and long overdue; 2) contacting players (directly or indirectly) before their season ends and signing them to NIL deals before they enter the portal is wrong. Money isn’t the issue - tampering is!
— Karen Weekly (@KarenWeekly) June 13, 2025
This comes after Taylor Pannell, who was previously at Tennessee, entered the portal with a do-not-contact tag and recently announced she committed to Texas Tech.
Texas Tech has now grabbed five additions out of the transfer portal including Pannell, Kaitlyn Terry, Mia Williams, Jazzy Burns, and Jackie Lis.
With current NCAA rules, head coaches can't directly recruit players on opposing teams, but there is a loophole.
With no limitations on third parties reaching out, the Red Raiders' NIL collective, The Matador Club, has been doing the work to get these big names to come to Lubbock.
It was reported that players were being contacted in the middle of the season and this is where many people, including Weekly, have issues.
"Contacting players (directly or indirectly) before their season ends and signing them to NIL deals before they enter the portal is wrong," Weekly said.
"Money isn’t the issue - tampering is!"
The transfer portal closes on June 16, and it's sure to be an eventful next few days with last-minute additions and seeing where players land.
More News: Texas Tech Softball Bolsters Roster With 4 Major Transfer Portal Additions
More News: Former Tennessee Softball Standout Taylor Pannell Commits to Texas Tech
More News: How an NIL Loophole is Transforming Texas Tech Into a Softball Powerhouse
Sarah Person was born and raised in Nebraska and has lived there her whole life. She is a recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in sports media and broadcasting. She did everything during her time at UNL, including writing, anchoring, broadcasting, and photography. Sarah has had a lifelong passion for sports and is excited to continue that passion through her work for Softball on SI.
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