Jim Harbaugh, Michigan’s head coach, issued a statement Monday calling for the college football season to go ahead as planned.
“I would like to address the rumors circulating today,” Harbaugh said in the statement. “I’m not pleading for football this fall because of my passion as the desire of our players to play, but because of the facts gathered in the last eight weeks since our players returned to campus on June 13.”
Harbaugh’s statement comes after commissioners of the Power 5 conferences held an emergency meeting on Sunday due to growing concerns among college officials that the upcoming bankruptcy season could not be played due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the statement, Harbaugh makes a case for why a season could still go safely, which includes the program with zero positive tests from the last 353 administration, zero positive tests among the coaches or staff over the entire eight weeks of testing, following CDC guidelines and “self-implemented stricter standards for contacting tracks in quarantine to prevent proliferation.”
“We have developed a great prototype for how we can make this work and give players the opportunity to play. If you are transparent and follow the rules, this is how it can be done.
“I am forever proud of our players, parents, coaches and staff because I am leaders and role models in our sport, in our institution and in society. We will continue to follow all guidelines for health and safety, learning, training and coaching these young men and their families who have placed their trust in us as they plead for a football season this fall. “
Harbaugh ended the statement with the hashtags, “#WEWANTTOPLAY” and “#WEWANTTOCOACH” in support of the players who gathered Sunday night to make a joint statement expressing their desire to play the 2020 season.
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