‘College football is essential.’ Gov. Reeves joins Trump in voicing support for fall season
As the Big Ten and Pac-12 made the decision Tuesday to forego college football this fall due to COVID-19, the SEC and other conferences that have members in the South are still holding out hope to begin play in September.
Count Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves among those politicians rallying to the cause of playing college football this fall.
Prior to his Tuesday press conference, the first-term governor sent out a tweet questioning those who think playing football in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic is a bad idea.
“College football is essential,” Reeves posted on Twitter. “What do opponents of football think, these kids will end up in a bubble without it? You can get COVID anywhere.
“There are forces who want to cancel everything to avoid risk at all societal costs. It’s foolish. We have to balance risk and costs.”
President Trump joined in Monday after some prominent college players took to social media to express their desire to play this fall, using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay on Twitter.
While the Big Ten and Pac-12 have credited the advice of their medical advisers on the decision to postpone football, Reeves and other politicians believe the players’ passion outweighs what many experts have to say.
“These athletes have been on college campuses for months, they’ve been practicing,” Reeves said. “When I listen to folks like (Clemson quarterback) Trevor Lawrence and some athletes in Mississippi talking about their desire to play, there are a lot of college athletes that are looking to further their career. You’ve got athletes that would not have the opportunity to have an education on the collegiate level without football.”
Attendance at Mississippi football games
Reeves and state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs have repeatedly said they can’t foresee large crowds at high school or college games in the coming months, but the governor believes a cap on capacity in stadiums will allow games to be played at Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss.
“I personally think we can play college football,” Reeves said. “I don’t think you can do it in a stadium of 100,000. We’ve been working with universities, looking at the potential of an agreement and what it would look like. There are no easy decisions at this point, but we’re also not going to ever completely minimize the risk and mitigate the risk to zero.”
The limit on capacity in outdoor venues in Mississippi currently stands at 25 percent under an executive order established by Reeves, who acknowledged that figure may change by the time high schools and colleges take the field next month.
“We’re having conversations on whether to limit that further,” Reeves said. “I had conversations with Dr. Dobbs about that last week, along with various interested parties over the last several days. That’s not ready to be announced, but it will be in the very near future.”
While Ole Miss and Mississippi State can rely on a hefty SEC TV contract to partially make up for the loss in ticket sales, a program like Southern Miss would be hurting if crowds are limited to 25 percent of capacity at the 36,000-seat M.M. Roberts Stadium.
“I am concerned about the financial impact. I am also concerned about financial impacts on all other sports,” Reeves said. “Football helps fund not only scholarships, but the annual operating budgets of other sports. Sports like men’s track and field or men’s soccer require significant funding that typically comes from college football.
“If we start college football in September, you could be looking at 10-20-30 percent capacity. You’re not going to generate the same revenue that you will at 100 percent capacity. At 25-30 percent, you can still generate money to the point that you can help fund other programs, which I think is critically important to student-athletes across Mississippi.”
The odds of junior college football taking place in the state this fall took a significant hit Tuesday when one of the state’s preeminent powers, East Mississippi Community College, announced it would not be play this fall with hope of resuming competition in the spring.
“The well-being of my players will always come first,” EMCC coach Buddy Stephens said in a release. “There are too many unknowns to put in front of our players moving forward at this time. We must make this incredibly heart-breaking decision to not participate in the fall 2020 season.”
Myocarditis emerges as a potential problem
A big reason that the Pac-12 and Big Ten decided to cancel football this fall is fear that players who contract COVID-19 will face lingering issues that threaten their careers and lives.
A heart condition that’s usually caused by a viral infection, myocarditis, has been found in at least 10 Big Ten athletes, according to a report by Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.
Eduardo Rodriguez, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, had his 2020 baseball season come to an end before it started after developing myocarditis following a bout with COVID-19.
Dobbs said that he and other health officials in the state are looking into the rare heart condition.
“There has been a lot of conversation about myocarditis, or an inflammatory condition of the heart related to coronavirus,” Dobbs said. “We’re learning more as we go forward. Just know we’ll be following that very closely and try to make sure you have as much information as you need. I’ve had conversations with cardiologists throughout the state and we’ll be working with those medical specialists to make sure we’re on top of it in this as a state.”
While Reeves and other figures in the South hope to push forward with football this fall, a new hurdle seems to pop up with each week.
