As Big Ten Commissioner Mulls Decision on 2020 Season, We Must Ask: Is It Worth It?

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren Image: Getty Images

Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

Tuesday was rumored to be the day that the Big Ten finally released their 2020 football schedule after going to a conference only schedule back on July 9th. That time has come and gone and reports are coming out that a COVID-19 outbreak at Rutgers has Big Ten Commission Kevin Warren rethinking things. On Monday Northwestern was the latest Big Ten program to pause workouts for a positive COVID-19 test. To his credit Commissioner Warren is reaching out to the student-athletes who will be putting themselves in harm’s way so that the current model of college sports may survive.

Beginning on June 8th, the Indiana athletic department had administered 408 COVID-19 tests which resulted in 33 positive cases. The Hoosier football team had paused their workouts on July 17th with guidance from the IU Athletics Medical Advisory Group. IU resumed its football workouts on July 31st.

The Coronavirus became very real for one Indiana football family over the last few weeks as freshman offensive lineman Brady Feeney has been struck hard by the virus.

In a Facebook post on Monday afternoon, Feeney’s mother Debbie Rucker said:

“I am not one to post about personal family issues because I am not one to ask for help very often! However, in this crazy, chaotic world where a global crisis is not being taken seriously I have decided to post my personal family crisis with the permission of my son, Brady who is struggling with this virus! I am asking each of my friends as a request from my HEART, PLEASE take this serious and wear a mask, exercise social distancing and realize by wearing a mask you could be helping protect those that you love! PLEASE

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My son was negative when he got tested at the beginning of volunteer workouts. Within three weeks he and multiple others tested positive. His university has done everything right by shutting down workouts and retesting the whole team. Unfortunately this virus hit my son very hard compared to most of his teammates. Here was a kid in perfect health, great physical condition and due to the virus ended up going to the ER because of breathing issues. After 14 days of hell battling the horrible virus, his school did additional testing on all those that were positive. My son even received extra tests because he was one of the worst cases. Now we are dealing with possible heart issues! He is still experiencing additional symptoms and his blood work is indicating additional problems. Bottom line, even if your son’s schools do everything right to protect them, they CAN’T PROTECT THEM!! I pray my son recovers from this horrible virus and can lead a healthy normal life!! Football does not really matter when your child’s health is in jeopardy!! Think about it!!! My heart is hurting and I pray for all of these kids and for the people making the decisions about the season!!!

Please protect all of those around you and please wear a mask!!!

Thank you for listening!! ”

Feeney, a 6’4” 325-pound offensive lineman, who hails from St. Louis, Missouri, was a three-star signee in the Hoosiers’ 2020 recruiting class. In an article written by Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star, Rucker told him that the intent of her post was not to call out IU football, but to let the people of Missouri know how serious the virus is and that people need to start taking the virus seriously.

Ever since we saw the shutdown of major sports in March, the question of when and if college sports, especially football, will return have been swirling. As the country has failed as a whole to get the pandemic under control, the question of when and if college football could return has shifted to should college football return? The ramifications of cancelling the 2020 season will be huge and has the potential to change the way college sports does business. There are billions of reasons for the need to play, most of them revolve around the almighty dollar. After reading what Brady Feeney is going through and what Eduardo Rodriguez, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox who saw his season end due to myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart, that could be stemming from his bout with COVID-19, one has to ask is it really worth it? How many athletes have to be infected, have permanent organ damage or even die to say maybe it’s not worth the billions of dollars to play?

People will point to the NBA, WNBA, NHL, MLS and WPS as models to follow to bring sports back. However, there is one huge difference between all of those leagues and college football. The Bubble.

The Bubble has shown it can work, while playing without one has Major League Baseball nearing a crisis as dozens of games have been postponed due to outbreaks within the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals franchises. College football, most likely, cannot and will not create a bubble to play in. Could college football be pushed to the spring and use the next few months trying to come up with a workable plan and hope that either a vaccine is developed or that people start to take the necessary precautions to help battle the virus?

Maybe, but it beats sending student-athletes, coaches, managers and support staff into the lion’s den just in the name of TV money.

So, as the leadership of college football is trying to get the season in the fall of 2020, I hope they are asking the question that is one everyone’s mind, is it worth it?