The Big Ten officially canceled fall football Tuesday, and the Pac-12 followed its lead, as expected.
Meanwhile, the Big 12, ACC and SEC are proceeding with plans to play — at least for now — creating more angst among many of the Big Ten players, coaches and fans. One Big 12 source said that conference’s decision was the result of “blocking outside noise and all the pressures and listening to facts and making the decision for the right reasons.”
So what are those reasons, exactly?
Your guess is as good as ours.
We’ve been hearing “follow the science” and “listen to the doctors” since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and we’ve been doing both. But what happens when scientists and doctors don’t agree, and there’s nobody at the top to help with uniformity in the decision-making process?
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You get the mess we saw Tuesday when, less than a week after it came out with a revised, conference-only schedule that got everyone’s hopes up, the Big Ten pulled the plug on the season. What changed, they said, were reports from their medical experts deeming it unsafe to proceed.
Meanwhile, down south where COVID outbreaks have been much more prevalent in recent weeks, the SEC announced it would proceed with cautious optimism.
“Our medical advisory group has said, ‘Yes, we can continue to go forward.’ Should that advice change, that would certainly be a stopping point,” Commissioner Greg Sankey said.
In short, it’s like going to a jury trial with the “expert” you know is on your side. It’s all about finding someone to agree with your point of view.
But we do know this …
