University of Michigan president defends Big Ten postponement

The U-M president offers a statement supporting the conference for effectively canceling fall sports in 2020.

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The Big Ten university presidents and chancellors voted to effectively cancel the 2020 college football season along with fall sports, with intentions to postpone the seasons to spring 2021.

There have been various reactions from media personalities, with some praising the decision, while others decried it, especially given that it’s been less than a week since the Big Ten rolled out a new set of protocols along with a revamped schedule.

We’ve heard multiple times from Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and football head coach Jim Harbaugh, but after he reportedly voted in favor of the season postponement, it was the first time we’ve heard from University of Michigan president Dr. Mark Schlissel, who himself is an epidemiologist by trade.

He offered up a statement via Twitter.

 

Full statement:

“There are currently too many poorly understood health & safety concerns unique to intercollegiate athletics to move forward at present. I agree with today’s @BigTen decision & offer my unwavering support to our @UMichAthletics coaches, staff & athletes.”

I fully support the difficult Big Ten decision to postpone fall athletics competition. There are currently too many challenges to preventing spread of the infection among our student-athletes and coaches during practice and competition, and the impact of extreme physical exertion on the healthy risks of COVID-19 are not yet well understood.

I join Athletic Director Warde Manuel and everyone at Michigan Athletics in expressing my empathy to all who were looking forward to competing, coaching, supporting and cheering us on as members of the Wolverine family. I particularly feel badly for our student-athletes who gain so much from their participation in their sports and are such outstanding representatives of our university. We will work hard to return them safely to competition.

I also share my gratitude with the many individuals who have been working tirelessly to prepare for competition, including our student-athletes who have risen to the challenges of this pandemic and the many coaches, trainers and medical staff who have always made the health and safety of our student-athletes and staff their highest priority.

To our millions of fans worldwide, I think you for your understanding and your patience. This decision is the right thing to do at this point in the pandemic. Your support of our teams and our student-athletes is inspiring and Michigan will be back and ready to welcome you when it is safe to do so.

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That statement will satiate some, but certainly not the players who vigorously clamored on social media to play this fall.

According to fifth-year senior Tyler Cochran, Schlissel never met with the team nor explained his reasoning for allowing the season to be postponed or canceled. He expressed his displeasure with the lack of communication and support shown by the university president.

View this post on Instagram

Last year I decided to drop a class to come short of graduation by 1 credit to come back and play my final year of eligibility. Unfortunately, the incompetent Presidents of the @bigten decided, despite constant testing and strict protocols, that the voices of the players were irrelevant and cancelled the season. It’s even more disappointing that the @uofmichigan president did not come speak to our team or even explain his decision making process. Not surprising since I’ve never seen him in the facility in my 4+ years here. Due to this decision, I, along with many of my brothers, may never be able to play the game of football again. I’ve wanted to play football for Michigan and follow in the footsteps of my dad ever since I can remember, and he had that same dream for me too. Coach Harbaugh gave me that opportunity, and everything that came with it was more than anything I could’ve ever wished for. I’ve played in the Big House, travelled the world, and got to wear the winged helmet. I got to share the honor of playing for Michigan with my father. If I never get the opportunity to play football again… this has still been more than a dream come true. Go Blue!

A post shared by Tyler Cochran (@tcoch30) on