Frustrated parents of Ohio State and Iowa football players oppose the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the football season until the spring, the question of the process and the conference leadership, and ask the league for further consideration and input. .
Iowa parents handed in a letter to conference headquarters in Chicago on Friday, requesting a meeting with Commissioner Kevin Warren to ask questions “and get immediate answers and a sense of decision-making.”
In the letter, released on Twitter on Friday, the Iowa parents asked the Big Ten what changed within the six days when the conference announced its schedule, and on Tuesday when it became the first Power 5 conference to its shift sports to spring as possible. The Iowa parents asked that the Big Ten respond no later than Wednesday.
“The Big Ten had to have months to develop a strategic plan, but instead chose to leave it to each individual school, creating some confusion, inconsistency and no plan of action,” the letter stated. “It’s time to fix the crimes and emerge as leaders. We strongly encourage the Big Ten to review the fall season of college football, develop a plan of meaningful action and let these young adults be included in the decision-making process. “
It is a process that ends with the presidents of the university, as they have the final say in every conference on the question of whether schools can continue with fall sports in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Warren did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ESPN, but said several times that the decision was made on the basis of the advice of the league’s medical experts and in the best interests of the health and wellness of ‘ e student-athlete.
“You look at the overall numbers during this global pandemic, until caseloads they have not decreased; they have gone up. Trends have not improved; they have become less,” Warren had previously told ESPN. “You add that up and you get ready to go into more formal practice. It’s just a level of not only worrying, but unknown risks. If you’re dealing with people’s health, it’s serious.”
Several Ohio State parents reached out to ESPN on Friday, expressing both confusion and anger over the abrupt pivot of the Big Ten from practice to break.
“It’s not acceptable,” said Corey Teague, father of Ohio State who runs Master Teague III. “It’s something that needs more explanation, because if you go in a certain direction and change days later, and no one has talked to anyone else, and players could not be involved in this decision, and the protocols that were posted in by Ohio State were very successful.It’s sorry and I do not know if it’s short sighted there, lack of leadership, but it’s definitely something that needs to be fixed and more dialogue needs to happen.It’s just a very sloppy situation, and we want to clean it up. “
Ohio State mother Kristina Miller, the mother of fellow offensive lineman Harry Miller, wrote her own letter to Warren. Miller said she first felt the season was being postponed through the media, and there was no communication from the Big Ten office.
“There was no communication, no transparency, nothing to say what has changed in the last five days that we give you your schedule and we will cancel the season within five days,” she told ESPN. “There has been nothing.”
Miller suggested that instead of handing over the fall season to the entire conference, individual teams should have the choice to play if not, nothing that Ohio president-elect Kristina Johnson and athletic director Gene Smith advocated going forward with the autumn plans.
“Similar to players who have the chance to pick them off if they choose, we feel like our teams should have that chance,” Miller said. “We’re on a different level from Rutgers and Maryland. I do not mean it sounds pompous, it’s just true. Our boys want to play. They want to play and they should have the opportunity to play if they want to. They should not be subject to this vote, yes or no. Now, if you do not want to play, choose. Choose your team. Let the six teams that want to play play. “
Not all parents objected to the Big Ten’s decision. Kim Newsome, whose son Quinton is a corner for the Huskers, said her biggest question is “why the NCAA can not make the rules for the NCAA.”
“Why does every conference prefer ballet or not?” sei se. “The most important thing that the focus should be on is the safety of athletes and staff. That’s the most important thing, and how it has long-term effects. … We need to take into account health and well-being of the program, because who should not have coronavirus half the season half the season, and what happens then? I’m OK with the decision, that’s really me. “
Maurice Goodson said he would never bring back the health of his son, Iowa, Tyler Goodson, but he is saddened because he is also bitter about how it was treated.
“They didn’t give us anything, when, why, how,” he said. “… The parents know the investment the kids have made, so we’m frustrated because we want to see them play.”
Amanda Babb, whose stepson Kamryn Babb is a wide receiver for the Buckeyes, is the president of the Ohio State Parents Association. She said the group is working on a similar letter that will be ready tomorrow to present to the Big Ten, specifically to ask for more clarification on why the season was postponed and better communication in general. The parents of the Ohio State also want to know what the scene of the Big Ten for spring is.
“Playing two seasons in one calendar year will be so hard on the body,” said Babb, “and if you really care about injuries, you should have that time between seasons and I just do not know that they allow that through the season. to score in the spring. “
Mark Moss, whose son, Riley, is a cornerback for the Hawkeyes, said the parents brainstorm ideas on how the spring could possibly work.
“I said, ‘It’s almost comical that a group of Iowa football parents are trying to develop a plan that maybe the NCAA and Big Ten should have thought five months ago because they knew this was coming,’ Moss said. “It’s almost like they thought it would go away, or there was no answer outside of canceling the season. … Bottom line for me, I’m not sure the right people in the room were the ones asked the right questions and looked for the right answers to develop a meaningful plan to attend at least one football season. “
On Wednesday, after the Big Ten announced their schedule, Iowa held a Zoom meeting with the players’ parents, athletic director Gary Barta, coach Kirk Ferentz and the team’s doctors and physicians.
“We all felt comfortable,” said Julie Wagoner, whose son is a defensive end. “We are not trying to limit the seriousness of COVID-19, but we are trying to gain some clarity and transparency about why this decision was suddenly made two days in camp. What happened? Especially in light of the fact that the rest of the country still plays football, including the state of Iowa school football. “
The Iowa parents are asking the Big Ten to pause their decision so they can hear the medical experts from other parts of the country advising the other leagues that it is safe to continue.
“Let’s share facts,” Wagoner said. “What do you know that the rest of us did not know that caused you to make this decision, because there are a lot of unintended consequences about canceling an entire season.”
Stacy Wray, whose son, Max, is an offensive lineman at Ohio State, said that when the news broke on Tuesday, coach Ryan Day had a team meeting with the players followed by a Zoom call with her parents, but he did not specify reasons for something changed.
“He didn’t let us sit for long and amazed us completely,” she said. “Even in that Zoom call, he did not have all the answers as to exactly why this decision was made, other than that there was conflict between the programs within the Big Ten, but I do not even know if that is the full extent of it. “
The Wray family was hit with a double whammy this week, as Jake Wray’s season in Colorado was also postponed with the Pac-12 decision just hours after the Big Ten.
“I think there will be a lot of sadness if the ACC and SEC all continue with their seasons,” she said. “I think this is getting really confusing. Either it’s safe to play football or it’s not. I’m glad the ACC is still going on. I’m glad the SEC is still going on. I’m really. I think the teams are too in the other conferences could also continue. “
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