Big Ten football: 3 reasons returning this fall is a bad move

2. The Big Ten is kowtowing to political pressure with this decision

There is a refrain among many fans that sports should be apolitical. By this logic, sport is nothing more than a fantasyland, an escape from reality. To steal a line from basketball, this segment of society demands that athletes “shut up and dribble” rather than using their platform to effect change within society or to draw attention to injustices.

Isn’t it funny how that refrain hasn’t been heard one bit in the wake of this Big Ten decision?

Make no mistake, though, this was entirely a move that was only facilitated through political pressure. It was first pushed through the judiciary as parents of players filed lawsuits against the conference. It continued as the President of the United States pushed for the league to get back on the gridiron.

https://twitter.com/exavierpope/status/1306248948315758593

As much as folks like Northwestern president Morton Schapiro want to assert that this was not a political decision, statements of that nature are merely cover. Big Ten presidents folded like cheap lawn chairs, but they don’t want everyone to realize that fact lest they continue to be strong-armed into imprudent decisions in the future.

A common refrain when the Big Ten was still sidelined was that university presidents and conference commissioner Kevin Warren were only withholding football to hurt Donald Trump’s chances of reelection. The same energy we saw from unmasked, armed protestors in Michigan this spring dripped off of the vitriol spewed at the league.

And the Big Ten flinched. Rather than standing by their decision to push back the football season to spring, the 14 presidents kowtowed to factionalism. They asserted that this was a decision based in the opinions of their medical experts, who conveniently ignored the outbreaks occurring on campuses across the conference.

It was also political insomuch as it depended on conferences remaining confident that they will be fully absolved of liability should players get sick. That too is incredibly political.

We now know the Big Ten can be pushed around, and that they will make decisions for the sake of political expediency. It is hardly a good look from a league that fashions itself as holding itself to the highest possible standards, and a fair indication that the medical experts are merely a smokescreen to resume the flow of lucre and get powerful politicians off their backs.