The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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26 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2020 "Will we see the other conferences do the same? I don't know, but they're going to wait and maybe it would have been the right decision for the Big Ten to wait. But I think this is ultimately what would have happened." Karsch: "That's the only thing I question, whether or not they did pull the plug too soon. If it's true, the report that 15 Big Ten athletes have myocar- ditis already, and the students aren't even back, that's a concern. These are long-lasting health impacts. "People said very cynically that this isn't about the health and well-being of the student-athletes. This is all about money. Well, they just made a decision that's going to cost them money and is really looking out for the health and well-being of the student-athletes. "Was it a little bit premature? Maybe. But these are types of decisions that so much goes into it that we're not aware of. I'm not worried. "Now, I'll tell you who I cut a little bit of slack to — the student-athletes. They're emotional right now. My se- nior son just had his last baseball sea- son, his last year playing high school ball, canceled. He's emotional, and it's really disappointing. I get it. I cut those people some slack. "But I've heard enough from [ESPN radio personality] Paul Finebaum. I've heard enough from him. Thank God, he's always a trained expert in epide- miology." Sang: "I don't know if they pulled the plug too soon. Obviously, the re- sults that Jim Harbaugh released were pretty impressive, and Michigan itself, based on what I heard, did a really good job of keeping a safe, clean envi- ronment and protecting the health of the student-athletes. "Even saying that, you look at the athletic department as a whole. They had to cancel workouts in other sports, like hockey and other Olympic sports, because they weren't able to do the same thing in other environments. They weren't able to guarantee the full safety of those athletes. "You look at other schools. North- western had to shut down, Rutgers had an outbreak, Michigan State, Ohio State even had one that shut down voluntary workouts. Look at schools around the country — Clemson, LSU. You look at these college environ- ments, and you're seeing outbreaks in a lot of cases among student-athletes. "Given what we know about the vi- rus and what we don't know about the virus, I think it's even more scary, just in terms of the potential long-term health effects. It made sense to step back and see what else we can find out about this and maybe hold off on playing. "Obviously, college football is im- portant to all of us, but I don't think it's the most important thing right now, in terms of existing in the middle of an international health pandemic. I would agree with the decision on a personal level. It's sad and it's disappointing, but I un- derstand why they decided to do it." The Wolverine: What hap- pens with Michigan's seniors and other veteran players? Bastock: "That's a tough one for me. There are a lot of guys on this Michi- gan team that needed a senior year. We saw that last year. I don't know that, going into the 2019 season, we would have expected all those guys to get drafted who did. "I also think these guys need to play to be in football shape by the time the NFL Draft rolls around, by the time the Combine comes around, if the NFL is still going to be able to do that. It's a tough one. "I don't know how many surefire draft picks there are, but obviously, if other conferences do end up playing and these other guys that play have more film, that's going to be an issue. We'll see even more resentment and players being upset. It's necessary for them to get more experience and get something on film. "Plus, these guys really wanted to play. Someone like [senior defensive end] Kwity Paye, who I talked to, re- ally wanted to play. He said, 'I came to college on a full-ride football scholar- ship. That's what I want to do.' That's a guy who is going to get drafted regard- It may not make much sense for seniors who are already on NFL radars, like defensive end Kwity Paye, to play in the spring if the Big Ten figures out a way to make football season hap- pen then. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Orion Sang, U-M football beat writer for The Detroit Free Press "I do think, though, it would be difficult to ask these guys with NFL dreams to play a spring season, knowing the NFL Draft is right around the corner, and NFL mini-camps and training camps are in the summer. … It will be a case- by-case basis, but I wouldn't be surprised if the spring season saw most of the Big Ten's NFL prospects sit out."