The NCAA is mandating universities honor the scholarships of athletes who don’t play during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Brett McMurphy, the NCAA is that mandating athletes who want to opt out are allowed to do so. If players do refuse to play during the coronavirus pandemic, then their scholarships must still be honored. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
NCAA says all student-athletes must be allowed to opt out of participation due to concerns about contracting COVID-19. If so scholarship commitment must be honored by university. Also schools may not require student-athletes to waive their legal rights regarding COVID-19
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 5, 2020
This is the correct call from the NCAA. I’m not sure anybody was even thinking about pulling scholarships, but it’s not even an option anymore.
You simply can’t force athletes to play during the coronavirus pandemic if they don’t want to. Imagine the PR disaster if things went wrong.
The football schedule starts as early as the weekend of Sept. 5 with final games slated for Nov. 21 to align with academic calendars. The Big Ten Football Championship Game remains scheduled for Dec. 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium, though it could be moved as late as Dec. 19. pic.twitter.com/vWp3OSifBc
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) August 5, 2020
If a player was forced to play or lose his scholarship and got sick by competing, then the NCAA and the school would have a nightmare scenario on their hands.
If players want to sit out, they should do it, and we’ll see them back in 2021. The NCAA, an organization I rarely praise, made the correct call here.
The Big Ten announced approved plans for the 2020 football season — including a 10-game Conference-only schedule — and released medical protocols for all sports. The Conference also provided an update on competition start dates for remaining fall sports: https://t.co/fv78YGRQ9g
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) August 5, 2020
Let us know what you think of the decision in the comments! For those playing, let’s get the action underway!