ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Most accustomed to being opponents in the fall, Big Ten parents rose together for a common cause on Friday: a football season for their sons.
Following last week’s decision to postpone fall sports in the conference, parents from multiple schools across the conference organized an allied protest against the Big Ten’s decision.
Randy Wade, the father of Ohio State senior defensive back Shaun Wade, said earlier this week that “70 to 100” parents reached out to him about the protest. The turnout on Friday was smaller, but the voices of Big Ten parents were loud and clear, led by Wade.
“It’s awesome to have everybody right here. It’s great for everybody to be here,” Wade said on Friday in front of his fellow parents. “The thing about it is when you’re a parent, you’re a parent. When you’re a true dad, a true mom, you have some of the same feelings. And it’s just awesome to see them out here supporting.”
It was not just Wade who made his presence felt on Friday. Parents from Ohio State and Iowa also gathered in large numbers, demanding answers from the Big Ten and its commissioner, Kevin Warren.
On Wednesday evening, Warren doubled down on the postponement of football in a written statement, saying a vote on the status of the season was “overwhelmingly” in favor of postponement.
“There’s no way you can tell us that the Big Ten can’t get it together, that the ACC can get it together, that the SEC can get it together. The Big Ten can do the same,” Andrea Tate, mother of Ohio State defensive back Sevyn Banks, said. “And we can do it like clockwork. We can do it immediately. We have it to do. We are the Big Ten. As we stand and fight, we need the Big Ten Conference to stand and fight at any given time.”
Even before the gathering, parents from multiple Big Ten universities were unified in efforts to receive more information from the conference. Letters directed at Warren were released from football parent committees at Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, and Ohio State.
The letters emphasized allowing athletes and their teams the ability to decide on a season, as well as a release of the data that drove the conference to its decision.
“As football players, they understand risk. As young men, they understand the consequences of their decisions. They are able to balance potential risk with reward,” Michigan parents said in a letter to the Big Ten. “We believe that our boys participating in Michigan football this fall is the best possible environment during these uncertain times.”
Parents of football players at Ohio State agreed with their counterparts to the north, asking for clarity from the Big Ten on why the season was postponed, a set schedule for any season taking place, and the ability for teams to opt in or out of a fall season, among other requests in their written statement.
Iowa parents called the Big Ten’s Wednesday statement “unacceptable,” citing a “lack of transparency, hypocrisy, and failure of leadership” within the conference. A large Hawkeye population was present on Friday, standing with Ohio State parents in their requests for more clarity.
“You’ve got three conferences right now that are going to go ahead and start a season. Will they finish it, who knows? But at least they’re going to move forward and try,” Jay Kallenburger, father of Iowa offensive lineman Mark Kallenburger, said. “Nothing about 2020 has been like anything we’ve ever seen. If we’re going to figure a way through it- and this thing is not going away- we gotta learn how to live with it.”
As uncertainty over the status of any football season in 2020 continues to linger on the campuses of Big Ten schools, parents are joining their sons in the fight to play.
The sense of togetherness surrounding the gathering was clear. Big Ten parents want their kids to be afforded the opportunity to play, no matter what school they come from.
“On every jersey, our kids wear Big Ten on them,” Wade said. “We represent the Big Ten. It’s just not an Ohio thing, and it’s just not a good thing to have a kid disappointed over something he can’t control.”
