Shame On Them
PAC-12 Commissioner Larry Scott
Well, it happened.
The Big 10 and Pac 12 have officially announced the postponement of the 2020 fall sports season. All sports - including football - will not compete until 2021. Despite student-athletes gaining late momentum with the #WeWantToPlay and #WeAreUnited movements, conference commissioners Kevin Warren (Big 10) and Larry Scott (Pac 12) made the final decision after university presidents voted against allowing sports to take place.
Shame on them.
Let me be clear. I am not blaming the conferences for making this tough decision - even if it was made far earlier than it needed to be. I am placing the blame, and shame, on these conference leaders for knowingly bringing false hope to their own student-athlete football players by telling them that a spring season is totally viable. Shame on them.
Let’s look at this from the most important factors.
Logistics
Although it may seem like college administrators snap their fingers and create travel plans, lodging accommodations, facility arrangements, and weekly/daily hour-by-hour schedules, it is far more arduous.
These football operations staffers legitimately book these situations months, and sometimes years, in advance. Ranging from what meals will be served, to which charter bus company they will utilize, asking these teams to slash their fall plans, and create the same situation (albeit on a smaller scale) in a matter of 3-4 months is quite simply impossible.
Oh yeah, and all of your other spring sports will be taking place as well, most certainly limiting your options for all of the aforementioned necessities.
Academics
From experience, it is well documented that student-athletes (football players) take specific classes and courses in the spring semester to work closer towards their major requirements.
Yes, during the football season it is tougher to take some of the classes that other students can take because schedules become much tighter with game weekends, practice schedules, and traveling.
How would this be addressed? Some student-athletes who are close to graduating would undoubtedly be affected by having to postpone a course. Others would have to change their projected class schedule, which would get them closer to graduation. STUDENT-athlete, right?
This factor is being highly overlooked, in my opinion.
Player Health & Safety
The entire reason for this tough decision being made is regarding the uncertainty of playing amid the COVID-19 pandemic. To avoid the health risks and possible long-term affects on the student-athletes if they were to contract the virus.
For the sake of timing, there is no need to even discuss Larry Scott’s derelict approach here, failing to address (some would say ignoring) his own student-athletes recommendations on how to keep them safe on campus while playing sports.
Let’s just talk about a spring football season, followed by a fall season, all in one calendar year.
20-24 football games within 12 months? Player safety? YEAH. RIGHT.
This is a complete cop-out, and literal contradiction, from the Big 10 and Pac 12. Shame on them.
Even though Purdue Head Coach Jeff Brohm put a lot of thought and effort into a first draft, detailing how this could work and what it would look like, the chances of this being adopted is nearly zero.
Why? Because it would immediately put the student-athletes safety at risk, and surely increase the long-term affects that the inherent dangers of football present to those who play it.
Keep in mind, Jeff Brohm is most notable for his infamous XFL moment, playing 6 days after getting knocked TF out.
I love football, I love the “Let’s Play Football” approach, but to tout player safety as being the #1 factor in making these decisions is simply ludicrous. Giving these student-athletes the false hope of a spring season, aimed to limit the amount of transfers out of the conference, is even worse.
I have a hard time believing that football players will agree to a spring season followed by a fall season, unless some of their previously requested demands were to be met. Even then, it is a LONG SHOT.
No season means more time on the student-athletes hands. No games on the weekends allows for more freedom for each player. Not having to sacrifice for your teammates welcomes more temptation, which you usually can side-step.
The decision to cancel the 2020 season for the Big 10 and Pac-12 was never about player safety. It is about avoiding liability and protecting the leaders who refuse to relinquish any ounce of power.