Shane Beamer Tells South Carolina Player To Leave Program After Requesting Redshirt

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South Carolina has lost linebacker Bangally Kamara for the rest of the season. Not because of any type of injury, but because head coach Shane Beamer essentially told him to kick rocks.

Kamara had received a boost in playtime over the last few games for the Gamecocks and recorded a total of nine tackles through five games this season. Despite finding a clear role within the defensive rotation, he reportedly approached Beamer following the team's loss to Ole Miss this weekend and asked him for a redshirt.

South Carolina looking to provide Ole Miss with another upset this week

Shane Beamer essentially dismissed Bangally Kamara from the football team after he asked for a redshirt. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Players, even ones seeing the field, asking for redshirt request a few games into the season has become a new trend in college football with those players looking to preserve transfer eligibility if things go South at their current school.

Beamer, fully aware of Kamara's intentions, did not sugarcoat the situation when asked about it during his weekly press conference.

He came in my office and told me he was redshirting. I told him that’s not quite how this works," Beamer said. "We can have a discussion about his role… We went back and forth a little bit.

"My job is to do what’s best for the team. What was best for the team in my mind is ‘Gally continuing to play and help us try to go beat Alabama this weekend. He didn’t quite feel the same way," Beamer continued. "In the end, I made the decision for him that it was probably best to move on."

On the one hand, Beamer just lost a linebacker who was very much contributing to his team, but on the other, he stood on business and sent a clear message to the rest of his team that culture and intention matter. Kamara has since entered the transfer portal.

This type of situation perfectly encapsulates college football in 2024, and you better believe these exact same situations are presenting themselves week after week in just about every locker room around the country.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.