ROSEMONT, Ill. –– Though actual members of Big Ten football teams were nowhere to be found outside of the conference’s headquarters on Friday, support was still present towards those coaches and players who are fighting for any chance of a season.
Andrea Tate, mother of Ohio State defensive back Sevyn Banks, was not shy to share her thoughts on a fall season taking place. Tate said if other conferences and levels of football choose to play, there is no reason for the Big Ten not to have a fall schedule.
"Whoever does not want to play, we can put together a schedule that doesn’t include them," Tate said. "Any players that do not want to play- there’s always an option. Don’t not give us an option.”
Tate let one word carry the weight when it came to planning a safe season: trust. Whether dealing with players or their coaches, Tate said there needs to be a level of belief that the decision-makers are doing what is best for everyone.
“Penn State, Iowa, Wisconsin- these coaches are going hard for these kids. They’re with these kids day in and day out,” Tate said. “So why now not take what they feel about if they can make it happen or not? This is what I’m saying: you can’t trust them sometimes and not trust them now. Trust them every time.”
That sentiment was echoed throughout the protests. Parents said they supported the decisions made by their children, coaches, and universities to begin preparing for play. They feel as though the ability to decide for themselves was prematurely taken away.
“There’s no guidebook to a pandemic, we all understand that,” Kyle Borland, father of Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland, said. “So, it really is frustrating to see some other kids get an opportunity to make their own decision, and that’s really what we want. Our kids and our parents feel that we have the right to make those decisions for ourselves.”
The father of Iowa offensive lineman Mark Kallenberger, Jay Kallenberger, shared a belief that the universities were acting with the best intentions towards athletes.
“Every school has their protocol. We at the University of Iowa felt very comfortable in what our medical staff was doing," Kallenberger said. "We all had a conference call, Zoom call, with our team doctor. Every parent was on it. He went through what they were doing to mitigate the risks. We felt very comfortable after that call that we knew exactly what we were getting into whether it was going to be safe."
Big Ten universities have not fully accepted the league's decision to postpone fall sports, though most have shut down any possibility of playing in a different conference this year.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has continued to push for a season, alongside athletic director Gene Smith, who had confidence in fall sports even after the conference’s decision.
“While a decision has been made by the presidents of the Big Ten Conference to postpone the fall season, we view this as a temporary delay, and Dr. Johnson has directed us to prepare for the possibility of bringing at least some of our fall sports back to practice and competition by the end of the year,” Smith said in a statement on Wednesday.
Players and parents have continually sided with their coaches on social media. Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields started a petition directed at the Big Ten, and a number of athletes have been pushing for the chance to make a decision on whether they play or not.
Even with the difficult circumstances any attempt at a season would present, Tate is ready to accept any changes necessary to see her son take the field this year.
“They’ve set 20 percent capacity in the stadium, we’ve accepted it. They’ve lessened our tickets, we’ve accepted it,” Tate said. “They told us we may not be able to meet with our kids after the game, we’ve accepted it. We need answers. Give us options. Let these kids decide. Even if you’ve said no fans in the stadium, let them play! Let them play. Trust the coaches.”
