(WWJ) After it was announced that Big Ten college sports would be delayed due to COVID-19, some lawmakers are calling on those in charge to reconsider.
Michigan Speaker of the House Lee Chatfield and other Midwest legislative leaders on Tuesday sent a joint letter to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren encouraging the conference to reverse its stance on the 2020 fall season. "The Big Ten's current direction is the wrong choice for the conference, for our area universities, and – worst of all – for thousands of our local students," said Chatfield, a Republican from Levering. "As a former student athlete, a teacher, a coach, an athletic director, and now as a parent, I know how important sports can be to young people and their development. I also know how much support restarting football and other fall sports has among players, coaches, parents, and the many people who have reached out to our offices demanding a change. The Big Ten should reverse course as soon as possible and do everything possible to help their students restart extracurricular activities safely." The letter to Commissioner Warren reads in part: "Commissioner Warren: We would like to express our desire for the Big Ten Conference to reconsider the decision to cancel the football season. After hearing from many concerned students, parents and coaches, we have been encouraged to convey our support for their wishes and our responsibility to defend the students' long-term academic and career interests.
"Recent actions taken by other conferences across the country to start football and other fall sports have placed the Big Ten, its members and students at a disadvantage. These athletes are losing a vital part of student life and are becoming less marketable to future employers with each passing week. Additionally, our local universities stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars that support vital student scholarships. This is even more frustrating when we think of how our Big Ten athletic programs are leading the way by providing outstanding health and safety protocols. All of that unprecedented planning and teamwork was an unmitigated success, and yet somehow the conference has decided to cast it aside anyway."
- Read the complete letter here -
It's not yet clear if Warren has any plans to reconsider fall sports. There was no immediate response from Warren to the legislators' letter.
This news comes just a couple of hours after one Big Ten school in Michigan announced a COVID-19 outbreak among students. Michigan State University says more than 120 students, all living off campus, tested positive after attending "multiple large student gatherings" in the East Lansing community since mid-August.
