As news and rumors continue to circulate about the potential cancellation of the college football season, a wave of pushback and support for a season has been overwhelming and swift.
Not only have college football players (including those from Ohio State) across the country banded together with a #WeWantToPlay movement, but media members and other loud voices in the sporting world have questioned why now?
And at Ohio State, even the players’ parents have gotten into the act with a letter of support for playing this fall. Many of the parents of the student-athletes on the football team have taken to Twitter in a large and unified voice of support for their sons. It comes from the Football Parents Association at Ohio State and expresses confidence in the testing and protocols put in place at the University.
It goes on to state a level of understood risk, but one to one of the most healthy groups in the country, and one the parents are willing to take.
Here’s a copy of the letter shared to Twitter by Master Teague’s father, Dr. Corey M. Teague. The full transcript of the letter also appears on the next page.
Next … Full text of the letter
Full Text of Ohio State football parents’ letter
Buckeye Nation and the College Athletic Community:
In response to the ongoing discussions surrounding the 2020 college football season, we the Football Parents Association at Ohio State would like to give our thoughts on the situation.
We believe Ohio State has set the standard for college athletics in regards to safety and testing protocols to ensure player, coach and staff safety.
The FPAOS strongly advocates for universal standards and protocols to be used across the entire conference that follow the leadership of Ohio State. Regular testing and surveillance according to best practices should be the norm for all players participating in fall sports. While we fully support any player that chooses to opt out of the season due to health concerns, this is a small percentage of the athletes.
As parents, we strongly believe our sons want to play the upcoming season and have full trust the university and coaching staff along with medical experts have found a safe way for that to occur. We believe that this age group represents some of the healthiest individuals, while we recognize the risk cannot be eliminated, we believe the risk is minimal and the season can safely and responsibly occur.
We respect our views may not be shared by others across the country, however, as parents of Ohio State players, we stand by the decisions made by our athletic department in conjunction with medical staff to play the 2020 college football season.
Sincerely, FPAOS BOARD
Now again, is anyone listening? Stay tuned on Monday because there’s a good chance there will be some news to share.
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