Big Ten decision based on new medical data
You can agree with the decision that Big
Ten presidents and chancellors made Wednesday to have a conference football season this fall.
Or you can disagree with it.
But to call it “the darkest day in Big Ten sports history,” as one national columnist did, is sensational at best and disingenuous at worst. Just as a reminder for some context, this is a conference that has had sex abuse scandals at Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State.
Big Ten presidents and chancellors reversed course after they decided to postpone fall sports to the spring semester in early August. They did so because daily antigen testing for COVID-19 became more readily available and because they learned more from their medical communities about the long-term effects of the coronavirus.
It sounded from Northwestern president Morton Schapiro on Wednesday that the concerns and questions they had in August had been answered.
“I don’t know how many hours a week I’ve been on calls with Kevin (Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren) and with everyone on the various task forces,” Schapiro said. “It was all about safety. We met with doctors over and over and over again.
“Fortunately, in the Big Ten, there are a lot of medical experts, and once they convinced us that it was safe to play, we were unanimous in that decision.”
If you believe the presidents and chancellors went ahead with the football season strictly for money, then why did they postpone the season in the first place?
Did they “cave” in to pressure from Big Ten football coaches such as Penn State’s James Franklin, Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Nebraska’s Scott Frost? From players? From parents?
“Their minds would have been in the exact same place (if) presented with the exact same information (as they received in August),” Penn State vice president of athletics Sandy Barbour said. “From the time we started looking at the point-of-care daily antigen test when there was one company we thought we could access, it was at least four by the time we went to the chancellors and presidents last weekend. A lot of information had changed.”
Franklin and the other coaches went public with their disappointment over the initial Big Ten decision because players at their schools and their parents made it clear they wanted
a season.
“We had an opportunity to get in front of the Big Ten and speak on behalf of our student-athletes and their parents,” Franklin said. “I think that’s an important piece. The feedback that I was getting from our parents as well as the players is, they wanted the opportunity to compete.”
Big Ten football players were allowed to opt out without penalty. Most of the ones who have, such as Penn State’s Micah Parsons, are expected to be taken in the NFL draft next year.
Franklin has had concerns about the mental health of players and their futures since the season was initially postponed. He said that motivated him to push for a fall season.
“For me, it’s totally about the players,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for some of them to create value for themselves. It’s about them having an opportunity to go play in the NFL. It’s about the opportunity to compete for championships.
“It starts and ends with those guys, specifically the seniors. For those guys, it’s an opportunity for them to better their chances of chasing their dreams.”
Barbour and Franklin acknowledged the positive coronavirus tests have been rising at Penn State. The athletic department released its weekly update
Wednesday, which showed 50 positive test results for all athletes among the 859 tests conducted from Sept. 5-11.
“We’ve taken steps around both accountability and education,” Barbour said, “because, let’s face it, probably the key to this with our studentathletes and with this age group is that they understand and believe why it’s important to wear a mask, to social distance and to avoid large groups.”
A Big Ten athlete who tests positive for COVID-19 can’t return to game competition for at least 21 days, longer than usual in order to do thorough cardiac testing and evaluation.
“The Big Ten has got very, very stringent protocols,” Franklin said. “I think it’s safe to say, probably the most stringent protocols in college athletics.
“If you’re not following the rules, you’re going to be out for a large number of days and miss not only practices, but games as well. And nobody wants that.”
There are no guarantees, with the Big Ten playing football or in life.
But conference officials and medical experts believe they’ve created a safe environment to go forward.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Franklin said. “It’s going to be challenging.”