COLUMBUS — The unprecedented announcement last week by the Big Ten, postponing the 2020 football season until the spring, set off furor and confusion across the Midwest.
In the off-campus apartment of one of the best players in the country, it sparked a movement.
“If the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 all think that we can have a season safely, then I don’t see any reason why the Big Ten can’t do the same,” Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields said Monday on ESPN Radio. “If we’re sitting at home watching the other conferences play, I think that’s gonna hit somewhere down deep. Sometimes it doesn’t hurt that much until you realize that you’re not playing. But I think the players don’t realize how much it’s gonna affect them once they see other conferences and other schools playing, and we’re just sitting at home not doing anything.”
As the college football season entered a fragile state, Fields became one of the sport’s loudest voices because of his prominence as a Heisman Trophy favorite and his position as Ohio State’s quarterback. On Sunday, he put his status to use by creating an online petition addressed to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and the conference’s presidents and athletic directors, asking that the season be immediately reinstated.
As of 7 p.m. Monday, the MoveOn.Org petition had 255,000 signatures.
“My love for college football and my love for my teammates at Ohio State,” Fields responded when asked why he wrote the petition. “I’ve seen the guys battle back from injuries and I’ve seen how hard our coaches have fought for us to play, so really just for them, and just my love for the game.”
The Big Ten has acknowledged the existence of Fields’ petition, although Warren has not commented.
The possibility of the Big Ten backtracking is infinitesimal. Not only would it reek of weakness and political capitulation, it would defy gobs of medical advice that the league cited in their statements when the decision to cancel was made. The motion, however, is gaining momentum.
Parents of players from Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Iowa, and Nebraska have all drafted letters to the Big Ten.
“We believe that the protocols put in place by Ohio State Athletics has provided an extremely safe environment for our players to prepare for the season,” the Football Parents At Ohio State organization wrote. “Football is a game of risk. Our sons work extremely hard for the opportunity to play and fully understand the risks involved when they step on the field. Their personnel decisions should be acknowledged and honored to give them the opportunity to compete as athletes in the game they love.”
The FPAOS is asking that players who sign a liability waiver be allowed to play, a meeting with Warren for seniors and their parents, and to see medical data that the conference used in its decision to cancel the season.
Similar requests were made on Monday by parents of Michigan players. The one-page letter asks for a meeting with Warren and Michigan president Mark Schlissel, an explanation of why the fall season was canceled, and the reinstatement of the 10-game schedule.
“We feel that the decision to cancel the 2020 season was premature,” the letter, posted by the Twitter account @WolverineFamily, said. “We also believe the Big Ten and University Presidents failed to exercise due diligence by not acquiring the input of the very student athletes their decisions would impact.”
Schlissel, an immunologist, shared his reservations about a potential football season throughout the summer and issued a statement last week agreeing with the Big Ten’s decision.
“There are currently too many poorly understood health and safety concerns unique to intercollegiate athletics to move forward at present,” he said.
The commitment by the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 to go forward with a fall 2020 season and the Big Ten and Pac-12’s conclusion that the path wasn’t in the best interest of player safety has created division among players, parents, coaches, and conferences. The chorus grew louder over the weekend when the FDA approved a rapid, inexpensive, and 90 percent accurate saliva test.
The overwhelming message from the dissatisfied parties is that they trust themselves (or their sons) to determine what is the best course of action and that the current environment is the safest place to be.
Dr. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, offered a dissenting opinion Sunday on CNN.
“If the testing in the U.S. stays the way it is,” he said, “there’s no way we can go forward with sports.”
Attorney Tom Mars, who has a better winning percentage in college football than Ryan Day, Nick Saban, and Dabo Swinney, has offered advice to Big Ten parents. His “Action Plan to Mitigate Concerns and Legal Risks of Playing Fall 2020 Football” is a two-page document that outlines four guidelines on why the NCAA should repeal its ban on coronavirus waivers.
The NCAA announced Aug. 5 that it would not allow member institutions to require athletes to sign a waiver that gives up legal rights related to the coronavirus. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) presented the College Athletes Bill of Rights last week, part of which would prohibit schools requiring athletes to give up legal rights.
Not every player, however, is in agreement with the outrage. Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan on Monday praised the Big Ten for putting player safety first. Fellow Gopher Benjamin St-Juste, a Michigan transfer, told ESPN that the Big Ten made a rational decision.
In September, October, or by the end of the week, the Big Ten’s verdict could prove prescient. They undoubtedly have a majority of the medical and scientific community in their corner. The avenue they traversed to reach their destination, however, was riddled with potholes and imprudent thinking.
“I could not be more proud of Justin Fields and I support his efforts,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day tweeted. “He loves Ohio State. He loves his teammates. We ask our players to be leaders and he’s leading. I’m honored to coach him and this team. #FIGHT.”
First Published August 17, 2020, 11:47 p.m.
