Parents, players support playing football this fall
As more signs cast doubt on there being college football in 2020, Penn State players and parents joined many others in pleading that the Big Ten and other conferences not cancel the season.
“I feel safer playing football than being home!!” Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford tweeted Sunday night. “Never wanted to play football more than now!”
Nittany Lions tight end Pat Freiermuth’s mother, Dianne, wrote a letter as president of the Penn State Football Parents Association and said Monday that she and other parents trust the football and medical staff.
“I’m 100% confident in them,” Dianne Freiermuth said from her home in Massachusetts. “Obviously there’s a risk being in State College, but there’s also a risk being at home. To be honest with you, we talked about that as a family last night.
“Patrick is probably safer than his two siblings and my husband and myself. He’s being tested regularly. He’s being monitored. We’re 100% confident in his safety.”
Big Ten presidents reportedly met Sunday night to discuss canceling the fall football season because of the coronavirus pan
demic.
Players from the Big Ten and the other four major conferences responded by putting out a statement saying they want to have a season this fall and made four requests, including forming a players organization. They combined the hashtags, #WeAreUnited and #WeWantToPlay.
“(We want) to establish universal mandated health and safety procedures and protocols to protect college athletes against COVID-19,” the statement read. “Use our voices to establish open communication and trust between players and officials; (and) ultimately create a College Football Players Association.”
Dianne Freiermuth, a high school teacher, said that she was compelled to write the letter because she and other parents wanted to show their support for the players, coaches, support staff and athletic department at Penn State.
“People need to know that they’re doing this the right way,” she said. “For all the time and all the money and all the effort they’ve put into it, we feel it’s a safe environment for our boys to play in.
“If you can do it the right way and you have the right protocols in place, then you should at least try to play.”
Freiermuth said she and other parents have been satisfied with the transparency from Penn State regarding the health and safety of their sons.
“The communication from Penn State has been outstanding,” she said. “Coach (James) Franklin is a great communicator and he’s been even better through this because he understands the anxieties a parent would have. He’s a parent himself. He understands that this is a different situation.”
She said she’s not aware of any Penn State players other than All-America linebacker Micah Parsons opting out of the season.
Pat Freiermuth, a junior, has been projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick in the spring. He probably would not hurt his draft standing if he decided not to play this season.
“It’s very important for him to play,” Dianne Freiermuth said. “He wants to play at Penn State right now. That is his goal. He went into this season knowing that. He wants to play with his teammates. That’s where he is in his life.
“You know what, nothing is guaranteed. You can talk about him being a firstround pick all you want, but as we have all learned, nothing is guaranteed. Nothing.”
Penn State center and captain Michal Menet, the former Exeter standout, and other Lions players expressed their desire to play over the weekend.
“Our staff and athletic department have a great plan for us to stay safe and get us ready for the season,” Menet wrote on Twitter. “We are able to continue getting better and I have felt safe every step of the way. We want to play and we will be ready to play.”