As the days go by, it becomes clearer and clearer that college football is in trouble for this fall. In a story first reported by Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger from Sports Illustrated on Sunday, Power 5 conferences would be meeting with their boards in the next couple of days and this telling quote was put in the article:
“I think by the end of the week the fall sports will be postponed in all conferences.”
As of right now, one power conference has reportedly decided to cancel the season this fall. According to the Detroit Free Press, the Big Ten has made the decision to cancel the upcoming season due to concerns from COVID-19, but no official announcement has been made. Dan Patrick revealed on his show that the vote was 12-2 in favor of canceling:
All morning long on Monday, there was debate around the issue. One of the topics talked about was if you had a son, would you let him play college football during these unprecedented times. Former LSU defensive tackle and Super Bowl champion Booger McFarland answered that question on ESPN’s Get Up and mentioned the selfishness he sees in college sports.
“I have a son. If he was old enough to play college football and he was on a team, I would not let him play…How can it be safe for me to send my 17-20 year old son on the field, but you can’t have fans in the stands? How can it be safe for me to send my 17-20 year old kid to college, but you can’t have kids that to class and sit in those seats? See, at some point, this has become selfish for everyone else and we want to make decisions when we are the ones not taking the risk.”
On Sunday night, many high profile players, such as Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, tweeted using the #WeWantToPlay hashtag. Lawrence articulated his thoughts on social media.
“Unfortunately, for the NCAA, we still call these kids amateur athletics and we have hid behind that for years,” McFarland said on ESPN this morning. “I understand what Trevor Lawrence and all of these players around the country are doing, but guess what! It’s not up to you because you are an amateur. That means someone has to make the decision for you. I understand the hashtag, but it does not really mean anything.”
Later in the show, McFarland used Tennessee guard Trey Smith, one of the best offensive linemen in the country, as an example of the reason liability will play a larger role in any conference’s decision than what players want. Smith had blood clots in his lungs back in 2018 and had a special practice plan last season.
“I understand he can say ‘we want to play,’ but at some point, when everything hits the fan, the University of Tennessee will be liable. Just like what happened in the NFL with the concussion lawsuit, when liability is put on one side, there are billions of dollars that had to change hands and these college institutions, they are afraid.”
