Big Ten parents want, and deserve, some answers
CHICAGO — Based on what I’m seeing, the Twittersphere won’t like this column. Too bad. I applaud the parents (though not literally still no cheering in the press box) who showed up Friday morning to Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois.
Yes, they knew the office would be closed because of the pandemic and that Commissioner Kevin Warren would not appear. They came to make a point and ask for dialogue.
Is that so wrong?
“My goal — no, hope — is that all 14 parents’ associations can talk to Kevin Warren with the ADs (athletic directors) on Zoom,” said Randy Wade, the rally organizer and father of Ohio
State cornerback Shaun Wade. “That’s it. We just want to have some communication.”
That’s not exactly it. Some Iowa parents held up a sign that read: WE WANT TO PLAY.
You want to dismiss them as, at best, helicopter parents, and, at worst, clueless wackos? I talked to several and found them to be rational and caring.
“All of our boys have self-quarantined, basically, for the last three months, done everything Ohio State University and the NCAA has asked them to do, and to have the rug pulled out is really sad for those kids,” said Kyle Borland, whose son Tuf is a two-time captain for the Buckeyes. “They’ve weighed the benefits versus the risk of playing the game they love, and in (Tuf’s) opinion and our opinion as parents, the benefits outweigh the risk.”
Andrea Tate, wearing a scarlet-andgray face covering, spoke on behalf of son Sevyn Banks, an Ohio State cornerback: “I have a son (Marcell Harris) who plays for the 49ers. They are playing. I have nephews who play for Pop Warner. They are playing. We have high schools (in Ohio) that are playing. Why is the Big Ten, one of the Power Fives, not playing?
“We have an awesome set of coaches. You can’t tell me the protocols they have in place are not adequate. We want transparency. I want a fall season.”
None of the Big Ten parents is saying the coronavirus will magically “go away” or that 99% of cases are “totally harmless.” And they’re not spewing lies about this country’s mortality rate. Channel your frustration toward that.
Wade opened his news conference by asking for 17 seconds of silence to honor the 170,000-plus U.S. victims of COVID-19.
“A lot of people think we’re cavemen,” Wade said. “We respect that it’s a pandemic, but the lack of transparency from the Big Ten is a problem for parents. I know a lot of parents could not be here. It’s a Friday. All the parents here missed work. But the reason we are here is because we want to have a conversation. We want to play in the fall, but regardless of that, we want to have a conversation before next fall. We think the coronavirus is the new norm and that might not change.”
After the rally, I tweeted a short video noting the rally drew about 30 football people and 35 media members.
Reaction was harsh, and in a few cases funny, with people joking about the group’s inability to buy in bulk at Walmart.
Maybe I’m sympathetic because my daughters play travel soccer, and I’ve been craving for their return to the pitch so they will PUT DOWN THE DANG IPADS and go outside.
I’m also understanding because three of the Power Five leagues are going ahead with football (for now) and the Big Ten botched the initial explanation for why it canceled the fall season.
Warren acknowledged that but waited eight days to submit an open letter that provided specific medical reasoning.
Were I a Big Ten football dad, that would have been sufficient. But there’s nothing wrong with parents from
Ohio State, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois — the four schools represented at the rally — requesting a video conference call with Warren.
They should be able to ask him directly about eligibility issues and why a winter or spring season might be safer than playing in the fall.
Jay Kallenberger, father of Iowa offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger, said although there may be COVIDrelated advances by early 2021, it might be less safe to play because of wear and tear on the body resulting from suiting up twice in one calendar year.
Said Borland: “The goal is to try to get the Big Ten to answer some questions on what they based their decision on. There’s no guidebook to a pandemic, but it is frustrating to see other kids (from Power Five conferences) be able to make their own decisions. That’s what we want.”