Big Ten officials cast doubt on viability of playing football season

As July ended, Michigan has forged ahead as if its season would begin at some point in the late summer or early fall. Players went through their steps in walkthroughs even though it’s not certain whom they’ll face in their first game or where they’ll play.

Not long thereafter, the Big Ten sent a letter Thursday to athletic directors at its member schools that did little to clarify the situation.

Signed by Commissioner Kevin Warren and Dr. Chris Kratochvil, the chair of the Big Ten task force for emerging infectious diseases, it reads:“We will not, and cannot, proceed with preseason camp until we are certain that we can do so safely and that will depend, in part, on testing. Once we have everything in place to execute our testing protocols effectively, including the appropriate number of tests secured for all fall sports, we can make a decision as to whether preseason camp will begin.“

“We anticipate making that decision within the next 5 days.”

The letter was drafted in wake of the COVID-19 outbreaks that have spawned quarantines within two Big Ten football teams, Michigan State and Rutgers.

Right now, players are in isolation and team activities have been halted at both programs as they try to contain the spread of the virus.

These recent events have raised doubt about the feasibility of practicing and playing a highcontact sport like football in an open campus environment.

“If we determine as a Conference that it is not prudent to compete in the fall of 2020, we will not do so,”Warren and Kratochvil wrote.