Nico Iamaleava remains in the transfer portal with a “do not contact” label, indicating that the former Tennessee quarterback has a pretty good idea of where he’ll wind up. The Athletic reported Wednesday that the Long Beach, Calif. native is expected to head to UCLA to continue his college career.
One of Los Angeles’s most venerated sportswriters is no fan of that move.
Bill Plaschke, columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 1987 who national fans likely know for his regular appearances on ESPN’s Around the Horn, used his most recent appearance on the Worldwide Leader to discourage the Bruins from taking Iamaleava.
“UCLA, don’t do it! Don’t take him! This kid is toxic,” Plaschke said on the show’s “Buy or Sell” segment.
“He wants to nearly double his money even though he hasn’t won a playoff game, and he walks out on the team in spring practice, he leaves, just takes off, leaves them with nothing. … He’s all about the money, not about the team, and $2.5 million is not enough for him even though he’s an average quarterback.”
When asked by host Tony Reali whether “toxic” is too hard, Plaschke said he believes that highly-paid college players are no longer beyond criticism given the changing reality of college sports.
LA Times columnist Bill Plaschke on reports that Nico Iamaleava is headed to UCLA:
“Don’t do it. Don’t take him. This kid is toxic.” pic.twitter.com/NS8sSOCFVR
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 17, 2025
Of course, Plaschke is far from the only person criticizing Iamaleava and the team around him over this situation—both for how the timing impacts Tennessee and Iamaleava himself, as a very light market has developed for his services.
Some believe the “toxic” label is a step too far, though. Among those responding to Awful Announcing‘s clip of Plaschke is former NBA player and longtime analyst Greg Anthony.
“Just unreal, you know absolutely nothing about this kid,” he wrote. “Wow! He asked for more money, they didn’t want to pay he bounced. Whether it was a good, bad, right or wrong decision. It was a decision. Doesn’t make him toxic. Be better”.
Time will tell how Iamaleava’s decision works out for all parties involved, but in any case branding someone as “toxic” over a transfer decision that a large chunk of college football makes every year now does seem beyond the pale.
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