Madison (OnFocus) – Multiple Big Ten coaches are not happy that their conference is not playing football this fall, and one has spoken up about his concerns.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day is not happy with how the Big Ten has communicated with schools after its decision to postpone the 2020 fall sports season because of hte coronavirus pandemic. Day said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the Big Ten’s communication since it postponed football and other sports in August “has been disappointing and often unclear.”
The Big Ten has not set a timetable for returning to play. Day, along with his fellow coaches, would like some answers.
Day’s entire statement: “While I understand the Big Ten Conference’s decision to postpone the football season because of health and safety considerations, the communication of information from the Big Ten following the decision has been disappointing and often unclear. However, we still have an opportunity to give our young men what they have worked so hard for: a chance to safely compete for a national championship this fall.
“I couldn’t possibly be prouder of how this team, our medical personnel, athletic director and president have stayed together and managed through this extremely difficult time with so many unanswered questions. the Big Ten medical subcommittee has done an excellent job of creating a safe pathway toward returning to play in mid-October.
“These young men and their parents have asked so many questions that I do not have an answer to, but the one that hurts the most is ‘Why can these other teams and players play and we can’t? Our players want to know: why can’t they play?
Big 10 considers spring football
Multiple lawmakers had urged the Big Ten to reconsider its decision to postpone the season, and the conference responded this week
“We could not agree more with the group of midwest legislators who stated in a letter to Commissioner Kevin Warren that the Big Ten Conference is ‘one to some of the world’s leading institutions of higher learning, scientific research and medicine.’ The Big Ten’s Return to Competition Task Force is tapping into those resources as it prepares for a safe return to competition,” the conference said in a statement.
“The letter reflects that we all want the same thing, which is for ‘sports to continue safely.’ The conference will continue to work with the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Cancellors as it has always done to identify opportunities to resume competition as soon as it is safe to do so.”
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
