Penn State football parents publish letter Saturday demanding answers from Big Ten
The Penn State Football Parents Association published a letter Saturday night demanding answers from Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren and Penn State President Eric Barron regarding the Big Ten’s decision Tuesday to postpone the fall 2020 college football season.
On Aug. 9, the group published a letter in support of their sons’ push to play, while reports piled up that the Big Ten would cancel its fall football season only four days after the conference released its schedule. Then, on Tuesday — despite pushback from head coach James Franklin, several players and players’ parents — the Big Ten decided to postpone its 2020-21 fall sports season, canceling fall college football for the conference.
In their latest letter, first tweeted out by The Athletic’s Audrey Snyder, the parents ask what medical information Warren, the Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee gained in the six-day period between releasing the schedule and deeming it unsafe to play this fall. The letter demands the “reinstatement of the schedule as presented on Aug. 5 with open dates used as new dates for games as needed” and a “Zoom meeting with our parents to answer questions regarding eligibility including the status of fifth-year seniors and players who chose to opt out of competition in 2020.”
“We want to know what changed in six days and why was this decision rushed before the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA could answer some of the most basic questions regarding the futures of these student-athletes,” the letter reads.
The letter also said Penn State has “led the nation in ensuring the safety of the players, our sons, the coaches and support staff over the last two months.” It states players being tested regularly, contact tracing protocols developed, a small number of athletes being quarantined after testing positive and the lack of new positive cases in Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics’ most recent coronavirus testing update on Wednesday are evidence of Penn State providing its players with a safe training environment.
Mentioned in the letter was the fact that parents feel their sons are safer on campus under the team’s health and safety standards than they would be in their own communities. The low COVID-19 fatality rate for 19 to 29-year-olds was also noted.
“As parents we deserve answers as to whether these decisions are based on science or the avoidance of liability,” the group wrote.
More than 80 parents — including Penn State Football Parents Association President Dianne Freiermuth, John Clifford and Andy Friberg — signed the letter. They said they expect a response within five days.
“Why can’t we at least try to have a season?” the letter reads. “The players want to play. They are concerned about the financial impact on the State College community that they call ‘home.’ We should not cancel the season out of fear, but rather look fear in the face, continue to adhere to the safety protocols put in place and make the attempt at a fall season.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 11:29 AM.
