Pablo Fields was driving Tuesday afternoon on Cobb Parkway in Kennesaw, Ga., When he heard the news: His son Justin’s young football season in Ohio State was – at best – postponed by the Big Ten Conference.
“I pulled,” Pablo Fields said. “It was a really, really bad day, one you will never forget.”
What he heard that day in his son’s voice did not leave him either. Justin Fields was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year and will be playing a first round NFL draft with or without another down from college football, but he wanted to have a bad season.
“My son is always optimistic and positive, but in our conversation that day he was heartbroken,” Pablo said. ‘I don’t think he’s done as a college footballer. We are not rich in any way, but he is in no hurry to get the dollars. He loves Ohio State University and loves his teammates, and he has some unfinished business that he would love to complete. ”
Can that business still be completed? It does not seem likely, but many Big Ten parents of footballers have not given up the fight yet.
You may have seen the letter that Iowa parents delivered by hand this week to Big Ten Conference offices in Chicago. They are not alone.
Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports
Parents of footballers from various Big Ten schools want their voices heard. They want answers on why the league turned from releasing a schedule August 5 to postponing the entire season August 11. They want details about the findings of the medical advisory committee that helped inform the decision to call fall ball.
And they still want a chance for their sons to play. Even if that means bringing in the lawyers. (Continue reading.)
“I felt like the season was pulling under them before they got a chance,” said Amanda Babb, stepmother of Ohio State player Kamryn Babb and head of the team’s parent association. ‘They were told by their coaches,’ We need to follow these safety protocols to have a season, ‘and they did. Then it did not agree. ”
Babb’s organization drafted its own letter on Saturday, sending it to the Big Ten as well. Dianne Freiermuth, president of Penn State’s parent organization, produced a letter last weekend, before the season ended, urging the league to let her sons play.
“The decision came just too quickly,” said Freiermuth, mother of Nittany Lions tight end Pat Freiermuth. ‘I totally believe in medical professionals and think we should listen to them – if the good thing about doing medicine is not to play games, I’m fine with that. But to go from releasing the schedule to starting practice until stopping the season, without explanation, is just wrong. ”
From Tim Ford, father of Luke’s close end, Ford Ford: ‘I think the way this was handled was horrible. As if they did not have three or four months to figure something out. ”
Maurice Goodson, father of Iowa who is running back Tyler Goodson, took a more conciliatory tone. But he would like to hear more information about what the Big Ten did.
“It’s devastating news, it’s true,” Goodson said. ‘I get it, I really do – we all want our players to be in good health. We just want to know why, what has changed, and for the Big Ten to provide those answers to us. ”
It is worth noting that the appreciation of parental rejection of the action of the Big Ten is far from unanimous. Plenty of them are not sending letters or emails to the league office
“I’m OK with the Big Ten’s decision,” said Kim Newsome, mother of defensive back Quinton Newsome of Nebraska. ‘I know my kids want to play, for the love of the sport. But at what risk? I also love football, and I think they should just sit there for the year. ”
Several parents brought up the stress that the situation has placed on their sons, and the lack of direction they now feel going forward.
“They are lost,” said Dianne Freiermuth. ‘They have no answers. From a conference that prides itself on mental health, doing it this way? It leaves a bitter taste. ”
Eventually, this could be pulled then players and parents who speak dissatisfied and resolve where so many controversial issues are doing in America – in the land of lawyers. Prominent college sports lawyer Tom Mars told SI that ” several parents of the Big Ten players were asking for help ‘in trying to immediately find a way to play. In response, Mars drew up a two-page document entitled, “Action Plan to Reduce Concerns and Legal Risks of Playing Fall 2020 Football.” (Read that document here.)
Mars said he shared the plan with at least two head coaches in the Big Ten, who in turn passed it on to parents of some players. The plan is based on four buildings, the most important of which will involve all major stakeholders – players, parents, conference commissioners, university presidents, athletic directors and head coaches – following a petition to the NCAA to return its ban on liability exemptions. .
You may remember that some schools passed different versions of an exemption for their players to sign when they returned to campus for summer workouts in June. Those were hit with some significant backlog, not the least of which came from the United States Senate.
Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation June 30 to prohibit COVID-19 exemptions that some colleges require their athletes to work on campus. When NCAA President Mark Emmert appeared before a Justice Department panel in July, he was asked about the exemptions.
“I am categorically against it,” Emmert said. “It’s a cheap thing that schools do.” In early August, the NCAA banned exemptions from liability.
Mars’ plan suggests a multilingual campaign to reverse that ban. The chances of that may not be great, but if it does, the following steps would be as follows, from the plan:
“Member States retain legal advice in their capacity to make a ‘waiver of liability’ covering terms relating to Covid-19 which limit, eliminate or eliminate any known risks of infection and the long term potential health effects for liability for negligence, denying players confidence in statements made outside of the contract by the school or its representatives, requiring player to consciously assume risks of infection and consequences, requiring mandatory arbitration, confirming player’s decision to seek advice of his own legal advice or deviation from it, retaining scholarships and all other benefits provided by the school, and requiring the signature of the student-athlete (and, if applicable, the signature of their parent or guardian) be witnessed by in notaris.
“Member institutions manage the process of offering players the opportunity to play in the fall of 2020 by signing a ‘claim for liability’ while retaining the rights of student athletes who choose not to perform an exemption.”
At least one Big Ten school has left itself open to second counsel in terms of concession from exemption. Earlier this week, the Penn State University newspaper reported that incoming students had to sign a “COVID-19 compact” as a condition of enrollment for fall semester. “Students were required to read and accept the acknowledgment, or else forget their ability to return or stay on campus,” Daily Collegian report.
After receiving a lot of blowback, the school announced Thursday that it is changing the compact. “We have heard of some concerns about language requiring students to take the risks of exposure to COVID-19,” Penn State said in a statement. “Others have misinterpreted the Compact’s language as a violation of students’ rights, which was neither the case nor the intent.”
Among the parents who said he would easily sign such a document denying her school of liability if it left her sons: Pablo Fields and Tim Ford.
“I think they’s grown men and should be able to choose for themselves,” Fields said. ‘I was a young man, 22 years old, when I became a policeman. There were risks every day to run the beat, and I chose to take it. It’s definitely OK to correct a mistake, and the Big Ten can do that. ”
Ford added: “I would be 100% in favor of the exemption. I think everything we do in life has risks, and in football there are known risks and unknown risks. But to take a season away based on what could happen, endnote even giving the kids who chose a chance, was wrong. The children and families had the opportunity to take off, otherwise the others opted for it. ”
Among those who are net a fan of such a ban on pending liability: Blumenthal, the senator who helped put pressure on the NCAA to enforce the ban in the first place.
“It highlights the current system, that colleges are shifting the risk burden to the athletes and relieving them of responsibility,” Blumenthal told SI. “I think this suggestion shows how the system is deeply broken. Forcing athletes to sign off on their rights is not only unfair, but clearly uncertain, because schools are likely to be less cautious if they believe they are not legal. bear responsibility.They clearly have a moral responsibility that they try to shake.Trust the doctors.I respect and admire the passion of players and coaches and their dedication, but the risks are very formidable.
‘I can not believe she’s even thinking about it. It is wrong. “
Additional reporting for this story by Ross Dellenger.
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