Could we see all of football canceling their season?
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00:00 The college football season is in serious jeopardy.
00:04 And for more on that, I'm joined by our senior writer,
00:06 Pat Forty and Brendan Gulick of Buckeyes Now.
00:09 Pat, let's start with you.
00:11 Where are we and is cancellation or postponement imminent?
00:15 It's relatively imminent.
00:18 It certainly feels inevitable.
00:22 You know, I think that as the week goes on,
00:24 as I was told by a very good source on Saturday,
00:27 by the end of this week,
00:28 there will be nobody playing college football in the fall.
00:32 You know, it may not take till Friday,
00:34 it may be Thursday, it may be Wednesday,
00:36 but I think the dominoes are lining up.
00:38 The MAAC obviously was the first one.
00:40 And in the succeeding days here,
00:42 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
00:43 maybe by the end of the day Wednesday,
00:45 I think that probably everyone will opt out of fall football.
00:49 Obviously, you know, that's conferences,
00:51 coming together, the Power Five,
00:53 but the players have come together as well, Brendan,
00:56 including at Ohio State to say they wanna play.
00:59 They sure have.
01:00 We had a chance to talk with all seven of the captains
01:02 this past week when they were announced captains,
01:05 and frankly, it's pretty clear.
01:06 They want a football season.
01:07 They feel safe on campus.
01:09 They like the environment and the health protocols
01:12 that have been put in place at Ohio State.
01:14 Even last night, the Football Parents Association
01:17 at Ohio State put out a letter,
01:19 essentially pleading for a football season,
01:21 saying, "Look, we feel that our sons,
01:24 "you can't totally remove the risk.
01:26 "We think they've done as much as they can
01:28 "to remove as much of the risk as they can,
01:31 "and that they're willing to, as parents,
01:33 "allow them to play."
01:34 So, boy, this is such an interesting time
01:37 for college football,
01:37 because there are so many people with a voice,
01:40 and at the end of the day,
01:41 it still might not be enough to have a season,
01:43 but I do think that most of the Buckeyes
01:45 wanna be out there this fall.
01:47 Pat, how much do you think what the players
01:49 are saying right now will be taken into account,
01:51 if at all?
01:53 - I mean, they'll be listened to,
01:55 but I think most of these decisions
01:56 have largely been made.
01:57 Certainly in the Big Ten,
01:59 and I have heard from the Ohio State players and parents,
02:02 I've heard from the Penn State players and parents,
02:05 they wanna play, yes,
02:06 but they're not making the decision here.
02:07 University presidents are,
02:09 and university presidents are listening
02:10 to their health experts,
02:11 and they're looking at virus numbers,
02:13 and they are hearing stories about players
02:16 with lingering heart issues
02:17 who have had the COVID-19 virus.
02:20 And I think that is the biggest thing there,
02:22 is you wanna be responsible for potential health issues
02:26 that we don't even know what all they could be going forward.
02:28 So, good for the players for organizing,
02:31 good for them for raising their voices,
02:33 but just because they wanna play
02:34 doesn't mean they're gonna be able to play.
02:37 - Yeah, and I've always felt like there would be
02:38 maybe a distinction between college
02:41 and professional athletics when it comes to this.
02:43 Pat, Brendan, appreciate your time as always.
02:46 - You bet. - Thank you.
02:48 (silence)
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