Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh had to stand in front of his team last Tuesday to deliver news that he likely never thought he'd have to. Harbaugh explained that, due to concerns from the coronavirus pandemic, the Big Ten canceled its fall football season.
The players have expressed how disappointed they were at the news in the days since. Junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson went a step further: He was "infuriated," and those emotions are still intact a week later.
"They made this decision without talking to us," Hutchinson told ESPN's Marty Smith on his podcast, Marty Smith's America. "The commissioner [Kevin Warren], our president [Mark Schlissel], there were no words exchanged, asking about our thoughts and whether we want to play, because at the end of the day, we’re the ones playing the game.
"They didn’t ask us for our opinion, and it was super frustrating to find out one day that our president voted for us not to have the season, when I’ve never seen that guy in my three years here at Michigan. You know, it was definitely frustrating and I was just very infuriated and kind of helpless, because there’s nothing I can do. Us players don’t have a voice."
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Hutchinson's father, Chris Hutchinson, is an E.R. doctor at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., and has been on the front lines fighting COVID-19 since the pandemic swept America this past spring. He is also a former All-American defensive lineman at Michigan. He knows both sides of the coin to this decision, and has remained firm throughout that he feels it's safe to play.
Aidan's parents, along with the those of many other Wolverines, wrote a letter this week, demanding the reversal of the Big Ten's decision to cancel the season and requesting transparency and clarity regarding the reasons behind the decision.
It's been reported that one reason why the Big Ten decided to postpone is the issue of myocarditis, a heart condition that is the result of viral infections such as influenza and COVID-19. Dr. Chris Hutchinson doesn't believe those concerns are valid enough to warrant a cancellation, he said last week. Aidan said his father is working on more research to back up his claim.
"I just got off the phone with my mom, and she was talking about how my dad has just been debunking the whole data that Kevin Warren, the Big Ten commissioner, has been using as his primary data to cancel the season," Aidan Hutchinson said. "My dad was really curious on this data, with the heart condition. It was very flawed, is what he told me.
"I think him and my mom are visiting the Big Ten headquarters, with that whole thing going on, soon. I think he’s gonna debunk the data they gathered on the heart condition, because it’s flawed and it wasn’t right for Kevin Warren to use that data as his primary reason to cancel our season."
Although he knows there's a slim chance the Big Ten actually reverses course, Hutchinson believes Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields' #WeWantToPlay petition is a positive step toward giving players more of a voice.
"It’s kind of tricky," Hutchinson said. "I don’t know how effective all of it is, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to have that season. I don’t know if Kevin Warren or Mark Schlissel, our president, are listening, but as long as we keep having our voice and, with the whole Justin Fields thing and all the people visiting the Big Ten headquarters — I think if we keep pressing them and pressing them, I think there will be changes made.
"I’m just hoping that we can get a response from our president, a response from the Big Ten commissioner about something. There’s just so many questions going around right now, and I feel like questions that are being unanswered, quite frankly.
"I think it’s very unfair to us as athletes and it’s very unfair to the parents. We’re the ones out there playing football. We’re the ones playing during this pandemic. And it’s the Big Ten commissioner who’s making the decision for us. I think it’s unfair, and we all just want answers to our questions.
"We should’ve had a voice in this, and I think it’s unfair that Kevin Warren, the Big Ten commissioner, is canceling the Big Ten season, yet his son will be playing football at Mississippi State this year down south. For him to cancel my season and allow his son to play football doesn’t quite make sense."
Amid the uncertainty, Hutchinson has to weigh his options when it comes to his football future. He is eligible for the 2021 NFL Draft, but may not have another college season before then to showcase more his skills as an upperclassman. Right now, he's continuing to go through voluntary workouts with the Wolverines and preparing for an October combine that Harbaugh will put on to feature all of his players in front of pro scouts.
"There are a lot of factors," Hutchinson said about his future. "I’ve talked with my parents multiple times. If this fall season really falls through, I’m going to keep training, keep working out. If the spring season falls through, that’s when decisions will have to be made.
"I’m going to have to weigh all my options at that point because, from now until next fall, what’s going to change from now until next fall, in terms of COVID? My dad doesn’t think much is going to change. He thinks Michigan will stay at this low COVID state for another year, and he thinks the same outcome could happen next fall.
"That means that, if I were to stay at Michigan for next fall and that season gets canceled, I wouldn’t have played football for three years and I’d enter the league without playing football for three years. So, it puts me at a big disadvantage at that level, and that’s another factor I have to weigh in is, I’m just trying to play football as soon as I can. But I have to go about it in a smart way. There will be decisions made in the next few months."
One thing that may pull Hutchinson back to Michigan — and certainly a reason why he wants a season — is the chance to play arch rival Ohio State. He is 0-2 against the Buckeyes in his career, and he'd like to take them down before he moves on from Ann Arbor.
One more," Hutchinson said passionately. "I just want one more shot at them. [OSU head coach] Ryan Day, Justin Fields, I saw their quotes on Twitter about knocking the brakes off of us. You don’t know how much that riles me up. I need to play them one more time, man, but it’s out of my hands whether I can or not. I’m just hoping and praying that I got one more shot at them."
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