Amongst a lot of Confusion, Tom Allen Seems to Have His Football Team and Families on the Same Page

Tom Allen Image: Sarah Miller Hoosier Huddle

Written by Andrew Walker

The goodness of football is hanging in the balance. The Big Ten already canceled the fall athletic season. What happens now is the important part. These young adults are at a tipping point in their lives. A football season is one thing, but the support, encouragement, and togetherness of being at a university with other student athletes regularly defines whether or not a young student athlete makes good decisions. The parents of these football players know very well what’s at stake. With Michigan State going fully virtual for the fall semester, IU isn’t going to hesitate to pull the plug on in-person classes. 

That’s another thing too. I’m sure everyone’s seen videos on social media of parties with 40+ people. If the threshold for closing in-person classes where tens of thousands of students will be roaming the campus all at once is more than a few parties, then maybe the Big Ten overreacted. Outside of a few instances at a few Big Ten schools, there has been very little cause for panic specifically in the Big Ten football community. It feels wrong that Big Ten football programs are being punished for following the rules, but regular students are getting a “don’t do that again or else!” warning.  

It is going to be extremely important for parents of IU football players and the program to remain on the same page while moving forward. Allen said in a Zoom meeting this week that he feels “good about that. I mean, we've had several, you know, meetings or zoom calls, those groups and, and had some new individual calls that parents have chosen coming in voice They're, you know, questions or concerns and, and so I feel like that our guys are, you know, I think they trust us.”

The pandemic has led to many situations where a clear path forward has not always been there and for Tom Allen that has been the toughest part when communicating with his players and their families.

“I felt like sometimes there was there was some frustration on my end because I felt like I couldn't always I didn't know what to tell him, you know, there's so many things were kind of caught in limbo, and really made it tough to communicate with them. But at the same time, I always felt like I was open and honest about that. And we stayed through together and I feel like that our parents and and our players, they know that I truly care about our guys and their their safety, their health is number one priority” Allen explained

Most importantly, even though the season has been canceled, the players must stay healthy and safe for themselves and teammates. All it would take is one player to spread COVID-19 to the rest of the team.

The university, so far, has been handling things the right way; testing frequently, keeping distance, and still maintaining acceptable football activities when they can. At this point, parents have to trust in the program. If a player does get infected, (which there already has been a few) they have to trust that their child will be taken care of properly. 

The NCAA recently approved an extra year of eligibility for fall sport athletes due to seasons being canceled and while this could save some players’ careers, it can’t help but feel slightly unnecessary if the Big Ten did in fact overreact in cancelling fall sports. Furthermore, there have been some parents that have been more than listening. Actively demanding answers from Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren about the sudden cancelation. 25 or so parents from different schools met outside of the Big Ten headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois on Friday, demanding transparency to the decision. 

"We, as parents, want to have some transparency of what's going on, and we should because those are our kids. Does Kevin Warren think that when they go to school, they're grown and we don't matter anymore? ... The whole nation's going to see how the Big Ten responds when parents have an outcry. That's what's most important” said Randy Wade, father of OSU defensive back Shaun Wade. These parents just want answers. Cancel the season or not, these student athletes have to make the right decisions. Whether or not their parents are actively defying the season cancelation or not, they can’t control what their student does. Ultimately, the power to prove the Big Ten wrong lies in the hands of the students.

At IU, at least for the time being, everyone is on the page and Tom Allen is being as transparent as possible.