Penn State football’s Micah Parsons is the latest and most prominent player to opt out of the 2020 season thus creating a huge impact on the sport.
With so much uncertainty heading into the 2020 season with the pandemic of COVID-19, some people are taking it day-by-day to understand the process going forward. Some players are taking matters into their own hands by opting opt of the seasons.
One of the most recent and biggest is Penn State outside linebacker Micah Parsons, who is opting out of the 2020 season to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.
Parsons is the latest and most significant player to opt out of the 2020 campaign as concerns for COVID-19 grow. While he is opting out to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft, the pandemic has created problems for all teams. All Power Five conferences are playing league-only games including the Big Ten’s Nittany Lions.
Some players are even getting tested positive for the novel coronavirus. On July 29, there were eight student-athletes for the Nittany Lions that were positive for the virus with 66 more pending. Parsons is one of a few players taking matters into his own hands.
On that same day, Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley announced his decision to opt out for the 2020 season. His decision to opt out came down to his family and the difficulty he had with the program was handling the prevention of the virus.
This past Tuesday, the Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman decided to opt out to focus on the 2021 NFL Draft. He opted out due to the uncertainty of the sport, especially with health and safety.
Parsons opted out for the same reasons as Farley and Bateman with their concerns. This was a huge loss to not only Penn State but to the sport of college football.
Here are three impacts of Parsons opting out of the season.