Maurice Smith speaks out for first time on transfer saga

For Alabama fans the story of defensive back Maurice Smith's desire to transfer from the Tide to UGA is the story that just will not go away. While it seems like old news to Tide fans who want to put anything that makes their team look bad behind them, for Maurice Smith everyday the story only gets worse.

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Smith has graduated from Alabama and believes he should be able to transfer where he wants. Alabama coach Nick Saban is still blocking that transfer to UGA or any other SEC school. The NCAA is still telling you Smith is a "student" and not an employee.

Smith had refrained from publicly commenting on the situation until breaking his silence on Monday.

"It's very disappointing just because now that we've come to this point and it's a very heated situation," says Smith. "There's a lot of adversity that's been thrown at me, the university, coach Saban, and it's really making it something that it's really not. I believe it was something that was just as simple as a transfer. But now it's kind of transpired into something far greater, and a lot of bad things have been coming out of this. It's just very disappointing because I never meant to hurt anyone. ... I just feel like I've earned the right to better myself my last year and go into this season without any doubts."

So what do you think Bama fans? Should Smith be able to go where he wants as a graduate? Is Saban right to block him? Can we stop pretending this isn't a business?

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