Former Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez knows what it’s like to compete in a big-time college football environment. As a starting wide-receiver with the Buckeyes, he has first-hand knowledge of the lessons college football players learn, and the support available to help them succeed.
Now that he’s in Congress, Gonzalez can marry the perspectives of being a high-profile college athlete with navigating his way as a public servant. And boy did he have some criticism for the Big Ten when it was made apparent that it was on the doorstep of canceling or postponing fall football.
In an interview with USA TODAY, the former Buckeye and Indianapolis Colt didn’t hold back.
“I learned more in that college football environment than I did in any classroom or in any other environment that I’ve ever been in,” Gonzalez told USA TODAY, “and I know that I’m not alone in that. So, to take that opportunity away from these kids, many of whom come from some of the most difficult backgrounds that this country has to offer, I think is catastrophic for them.”
Ex-Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, now a first-term congressman, joined a chorus of politicians Monday advocating the Big Ten not cancel its football season, calling a potential move "devastating" for players in an interview with The Dispatch: https://t.co/IH0bABaanu
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) August 11, 2020
Gonzalez went on to call any decision to not play “an enormous mistake for the kids.”
He acknowledged the risk of playing during a pandemic, but believes that with the right support, there are ways to make it work.
“The risk is obviously there,” Gonzalez continued. “But I think that if you’re in an environment where coaches want to coach, players want to play and parents of players want their kids to play that, at the very least, you need to create the option.”
Gonzalez also questioned how being around others within the confines of competition is less risky than mingling with others in a face-to-face school setting.
“The risk of playing to me and catching the virus doesn’t appear to be different from the risk of being on campus and catching the virus,” Gonzalez said. “The world we’re living in isn’t a world where you’re choosing between playing football with COVID risk and not playing football with no COVID risk.”