Penn State football players, Franklin push back as Big Ten moves toward canceling season
Any optimism that Penn State will play football this fall has all but vanished as media reports piled up Monday afternoon that the Big Ten fall football season would be canceled.
Still, those within the Penn State football program hadn’t given up on trying to save their season.
By Monday afternoon, numerous Nittany Lion players — including tight end Pat Freiermuth and quarterback Sean Clifford — had tweeted their desire to play with the message #IWantToPlay or #WeWantToPlay. Head coach James Franklin echoed a similar sentiment.
“I love our players & believe it is my responsibility to help them chase their dreams, both collectively & individually,” Franklin tweeted. “I am willing to fight WITH them & for our program!”
Even players’ parents weighed in. The Penn State Football Parents Association, led by president Dianne Freiermuth, issued a statement Sunday night in support of their sons’ push.
“Our sons are regularly tested and contract tracing protocols have been developed to ensure player safety as well as parent confidence,” the letter read. “... While risk can never be eliminated Penn State has minimized this risk and the season can be played in a safe manner.”
This came on the same night in which a collection of players from all Power 5 conferences released a joint statement with the National College Players Association calling for a chance to play and “ultimately create a College Football Players Association.” While last week, groups of organized Pac-12 and Big Ten players threatened to boycott the season if their demands — including specific COVID-19 prevention and safety measures — weren’t met, it is clear that playing this fall is the preferred outcome for a vast majority of Power 5 players.
With Big Ten head coaches like Franklin, Michigan’s John Harbaugh, Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Nebraska’s Scott Frost now openly expressing their support for their players’ movement to play, pressure continues to mount within the conference.
Despite several reports indicating that the Big Ten will make an official announcement to cancel the fall college football season Tuesday, the Centre Daily Times confirmed that Penn State practiced, as regularly scheduled, Monday morning.
As of press time Monday evening, there had not been an official decision made on the Big Ten’s fall football season.
Jon Sauber contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 6:02 PM.
