Just when you thought there couldn’t be any further drama surrounding the Big Ten’s decision to postpone the fall football campaign, you were clearly wrong. I must admit, I believed this thing would go not-so-quietly into the night, but would eventually calm down to the point where everyone could turn the page towards prepping for saving the season in the spring.
Boy, was I wrong.
Since the announcement, we’ve had players and parents protest, Justin Fields create an online petition to move the Big Ten to reverse course, and even a well-known attorney enter the fray and provide guidance and opinions on where things stand. It all surrounds the cloak and dagger nature of everything, lack of transparency, and poor communication across multiple fronts.
And now this.
According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour questioned whether any sort of vote on the whole sordid deal took place. And it’s not just her, but Minnesota president Joan Gabel also made comments alluding to the absence of any real vote.
University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel also in this camp.
— Andy Greder (@andygreder) August 17, 2020
What?
It’s one thing for one athletic director to come out with concern and confusion, but when you get a president come forward — a president that was supposed to be a part of whatever vote occurred — that’s cause for concern.
Even further news broke Monday by Jeff Snook. He cited sources close to the situation that there was clearly not a vote, but a discussion where Warren convinced and railroaded his decision to postpone the season.
Jeff Snook's sources saying there wasn't a vote. Kevin Warren was pushing Presidents to cancel. Some Presidents wanted Sept 26th start but Warren wanted them all to have a unified message. https://t.co/DusS4PLibL
— jbook™ (@jbook37) August 18, 2020
So where is Kevin Warren on all of this? Part of being a leader is coming out and addressing issues head-on. Instead, during a Big Ten Network special on the initial announcement, Warren refused to answer several direct and pointed questions posed to him by Dave Revsine. He instead side-stepped questions about a consensus on the vote, and even got defensive on some questions that called for answers.
And all we heard from the Big Ten offices since then are crickets and the sound of howling wind. There have been a few tumbleweeds blow across Lake Michigan as well.
All of this is occurring while Warren’s son still practices and prepares for a fall season on a Mississippi State team that’s still planning on playing games in the SEC. That’s right. It’s not safe for Big Ten players to play a season, but the commissioner’s own son can suit up and keep grinding away.
If there’s one thing the Big Ten has been known for over the years under former commissioner Jim Delany, it was cohesiveness and unity. That’s far from what’s happening today, and that gives the appearance that there’s much more to this story than even what we’ve heard so far.
And no matter what side of the fence you reside on with whether the right move was made or not to postpone the season, we can all agree that simply sitting on the sideline and watching the conference burn isn’t the best way to handle things.
I’d say your move Warren, but maybe we shouldn’t hold our breath at this point.
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