Fields believes protocols are in place to allow schools to play football while mitigating safety concernsGETTY IMAGES
A petition created by Ohio State QB Justin Fields requesting that the Big Ten reinstate football had "received more than 130,000 signatures in the first five hours after it was posted," according to Bill Rabinowitz of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Fields addressed his petition to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, Big Ten presidents and conference ADs. He wrote, "We believe that safety protocols have been established and can be maintained to mitigate concerns of exposure to Covid 19." Meanwhile, NCAA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Hainline yesterday said that the path to playing college sports during the coronavirus pandemic is "extremely narrow and that 'there is no way we can go forward' if testing does not improve." Hainline said, "If testing stays at it is, there's no way we can go forward with sports." He added, "We're not in a place today where we could safely play sports" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 8/17).
SHOT IN THE DARK: THE ATHLETIC's Bill Landis wrote Fields' petition, which "takes things a step further, urging the conference to 'immediately reinstate the 2020 football season,'" had received over 185,000 signatures later in the day yesterday. Still, Landis writes, "Don't hold your breath waiting for the Big Ten to reverse course." Even though the conference has offered "little more than vague references to player health and safety to justify its decision" to postpone fall sports, it still has "no plan for moving forward." There also "didn't appear to be a major groundswell of support among players outside of Ohio State" (THEATHLETIC.com, 8/16).
MISMANAGED SITUATION? ESPN's Heather Dinich said she would be "shocked if the presidents reversed course." Regarding a letter to the conference from players' parents, Dinich noted there is "a lot of anger and frustration, not just from parents and their sons, but also from coaches and athletic directors throughout the conference who are still trying to figure the abrupt about-face between the Big Ten schedule announcement and then six days later postponing fall sport." Dinich noted, "This decision was made by university presidents who are all dealing with different situations and made the decision based on the advice of the Big Ten's medical advisory panel." ESPN's Paul Finebaum: "This is a public relations nightmare for the Big Ten, and they did it to themselves. They announced the schedule and came right back and canceled. The biggest problem the Big Ten has had is they didn't explain their reasoning" (“Get Up,” ESPN, 8/17).
