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Just when you think the book is closed, a new chapter in the story of the Big Ten postponement of the 2020 college football season seems to be written.
On Sunday morning, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields tweeted with a link to his petition to restore college football to the Big Ten for the fall.
The petition reads: “We, the football players of the Big Ten, as well as the fans and supporters of college football, call for the Big Ten Conference to immediately restore the 2020 football season. Allow the players / teams of the Big Ten to choose for themselves whether they wish to play or retire this fall. Allow Big Ten players / teams who choose not to play a fall season to do so without penalty or repercussion. “
Below the initial paragraph there is a title explaining “why this is important”. It reads:
“We want to play. We believe that safety protocols have been established and can be maintained to mitigate issues of exposure to COVID-19. We believe that we should have the right to make decisions about what is best for our health and our future. Don’t let our hard work and sacrifice be wasted. # Let us play! “
Within an hour of Fields’ tweet, the petition had received 50,000 signatures and, as of Monday morning, 233,753 signatures. Over the past 24 hours, the target for the total number of signatures has steadily increased and is currently set at 300,000.
The petition is addressed specifically to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, Big Ten college presidents and Big Ten athletic directors. Below the petition page is a comments section where those who signed the petition can give their reasons for signing.
At the same time, a number of Big Ten parents have started expressing their desire to see their children play this fall. Parents from Iowa, Ohio State, Penn State, and Nebraska were the main forces in this parent-led movement and issued letters to the conference addressing their concerns and urging to the reintegration of football.
As parents acknowledged the risk of their children playing football this fall, they wrote: “It is appalling that the Big Ten and the Council of Presidents have made this decision without the participation of those who actually bear these risks. They urged the conference to “right the wrongdoing” and reconsider playing this fall with players at the forefront of those decisions.
Northwestern players and parents have expressed their feelings through social media before and after the conference decision, but there has not yet been a similar mass movement within the Wildcat program. However, the parent movement and player efforts are quickly gaining ground in all schools in the Big Ten.
Given the extent of chaos the Big Ten has already gone through, it is unlikely that the actions of Fields and parents will actually change the decision already made by conference leaders. However, Fields has a lot of influence as one of the best players in all of college football, and it’s clear his movement is well supported by fans of the sport.
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