Op/ed: Big Ten Made Right Call on Fall Sports
Decision Protected Student-Athlete Safety, Public Health Dean Says
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
The Big Ten conference protected student-athlete health with its decision to postpone the fall athletics season, School of Public Health Dean Boris Lushniak M.D. and colleagues say in a new opinion piece in The Baltimore Sun.
The Big Ten Conference’s decision last week to postpone the fall athletics season, the latest coronavirus-driven disappointment for sports fans, shows the conference has its priorities straight, School of Public Health Dean Boris Lushniak M.D. and fellow public health experts write today in The Baltimore Sun.
With the continued uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 around the country, universities that push ahead with fall sports are gambling with student-athletes current and future health, they write.
It was the right decision, and it was made for the right reasons.
From the beginning of the pandemic, Big Ten officials have put the health of student athletes in the forefront of any discussion about how to proceed—and rightly so, because universities exist first and foremost to educate students. In early March the conference formed its first-ever Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, which has met at least weekly to provide unbiased medical advice to ensure the health, safety and wellness of Big Ten students, coaches, administrators and fans.
While we understand why many people are disappointed by this decision, the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 nationwide makes it impossible to move forward with a competitive football season in a way that does not present considerable risk for athletes and others.
Read the rest in The Baltimore Sun.
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Department of Intercollegiate Athletics School of Public Health