Alabama Football may benefit from the Big Ten and Pac-12 both deciding to postpone Fall sports- including football- until the Spring.
Earlier this week, the Big Ten and Pac-12 both decided it was in the best interest of player safety to postpone all Fall sports until the Spring. Shortly after this decision, the ACC, SEC, and Big-12 announced their intention to proceed as planned with the conference-only Fall schedules. Barring any unforeseen changes, the Alabama Football team will be taking the field next month.
Supposedly, the driving factor in the Big Ten’s decision was reports of Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, following a COVID-19 infection in several student-athletes. However, more recent reports have surfaced suggesting that the research used leading the Big Ten officials to make the decision may have been flawed and inaccurate.
If #medical experts for the Pac-12 and Big 10 #CollegeFootball conferences are using the very good @JAMACardio paper on cardiac MRI findings in #COVID19 patients as compelling for cancellation, that is a big FOUL. The data does NOT support this at all! #WeWantToPlay #RefuseToFear
— Michael J. Ackerman MD,PhD (@MJAckermanMDPhD) August 11, 2020
The Big 10 report on COVID relies heavily on this paper which found rampant abnormalities among normal controls and had many statistic that make no sense.
— Venk Murthy MD PhD (@venkmurthy) August 14, 2020
Time to retract or correct this paper. https://t.co/JY86C3zBBQ
Further, this justification seems flawed anyway because this phenomenon will not go away during the Spring. If anything, players would have a greater chance of catching the virus outside of their secure football programs and more likely to have instances of Myocarditis in the Spring after a Fall infection. Alabama football coach Nick Saban expressed similar sentiments.
#RollTide coach Nick Saban to @ClowESPN: "I know I'll be criticized no matter what I say, that I don't care about player safety. Look, players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home."https://t.co/srMcOwCPZG
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) August 10, 2020
A recent report from the University of Oklahoma football team proved this. Several days after giving players a week off from football activities, nine players who returned to campus tested positive for COVID-19. With the strict protocols and regular testing occurring in college athletics, players truly are safer on campus, living in a modified bubble environment.
Further, if the Big Ten is truly concerned with the effects of Myocarditis on player health, they should cancel the 20-hour per week athletics practice they are currently planning to allow. The effects of heart inflammation likely cannot distinguish between practice or game situations.
Alabama Football athletic director, Greg Byrne, recently stated that the Tide hasn’t had any reports of myocarditis with any of the players who previously tested positive, and Dr. Matt Rhea explains that it is a condition that is monitored closely after any infection.
Alabama AD @Greg_Byrne says UA football has not had an instance of myocarditis in 2020.
— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) August 13, 2020
Now all of a sudden myocarditis is an “unknown” possibility? I eluded to it in a paper I published in 2009 about sudden cardiac death among athletes. It happens after most infections. We watch for warning signs all the time. Screening now is very good. Nothing new here.
— Matt Rhea, PhD (@MattRheaPhD) August 9, 2020
The theory of postponing college football until the spring in the interest of player safety also seems contradictory when expecting players to compete in back-to-back seasons. This would surely skyrocket the risk of injury and lead most draft-eligible players to sit out the spring season.
How does this decision impact Alabama Football? Recruiting.
Players want to know they are going to a school where the coaches and athletic directors are willing to fight for them. The #WeWantToPlay movement proved that the Big Ten officials are more concerned about the COVID-19 health issues than the players are. This is a business decision for the players, and they should be given the opportunity to choose.
If they feel the risk is too great, they should be allowed to sit out the season and have their scholarship honored. If they feel the risk is worth it, they should be allowed to compete in some fashion. Safety precautions should be in place. The season will look far different. But players deserve the choice.
The SEC and Alabama Football coaches have proven that they are willing to stand by their players and support them during this time. Any prospective high school athlete has to be attracted to that support. Dr. Matt Rhea and Coach Ballou have been very forthcoming in their support for the upcoming fall season.
All who work in athlete care and development lose sleep worrying about our athletes. Whether it’s an ACL, head or spine injury, disease, or serious illness, we do all we can to make sport as safe as possible despite all of the risks. And we won’t let up now. #LetThemPlay
— Matt Rhea, PhD (@MattRheaPhD) August 10, 2020
I’m sure many of the Big Ten athletes are wishing now they had the opportunity to compete somewhere else. That begs the question… will the transfer portal light up soon? Will players in the Big Ten or Pac-12 be allowed to transfer to schools who are playing in the Fall? The NCAA likely won’t- but should- allow that.
What happens if a senior is depending on his final season to become a top-ranked draft pick? Before last season, Joe Burrow was a 6th round pick at best. After last season, he became the number one pick overall. What if his senior season had been postponed? This is a business, career-based decision for these players. They deserve every opportunity for the work they have put in over the years.
In the meantime, Alabama Football is slowly picking up more and more top-tier recruits and could add big-name transfers if the NCAA were to allow that. In other words, it is business as usual for the Tide among all the chaos.
The 2020 season is sure to be an interesting one.