Michigan Football Parents Rally at the Stadium this Saturday. [locked]

Submitted by Go Blue Eyes on September 2nd, 2020 at 2:38 PM

In normal circumstances I would already be in Seattle waiting for the season opener against Washington this Saturday.  But now I am attending a rally in support of the Michigan football team this Saturday at the Big House instead.  Starts at 1PM at the tunnel. 

https://twitter.com/WolverineFamily/status/1300844360788054016?s=20

[ locking this up, and after a quick skim through the first half-page, I'd expect a couple bannings, maybe more]

MGoBoard

Go Blue Eyes

September 2nd, 2020 at 2:43 PM ^

Follow the link.  The players want to play.  So do their parents (wanting their sons to play).  I am sure a fairly large part of the fan base wants them to play as well.

This site talks about "supporting the players so often, here is a chance to do so."

Joined: 12/04/2010

MGoPoints: 12683

Mike Corleone

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^

If they were unionized and paid, they wouldn't be playing for University.  Not sure why people can't figure out that this will lead to what is essentially the creation of a football 'minor league' and the destruction of college football.

Joined: 09/02/2020

MGoPoints: 39

RGard

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:50 PM ^

We'd still have football in college if this happened.  Most of the better players would go to the NFL minor league out of high school and the rest would be going to the university, getting an education and playing football for the school.

I'd still watch.  

Joined: 10/20/2014

MGoPoints: 57073

Go Blue Eyes

September 2nd, 2020 at 4:02 PM ^

I don't think you can just pay the football players and not pay the other athletes as well.  Pay one/pay them all which no college can afford.  I am totally in favor of letting them use their likeness for whatever financial gain they can muster.  And of course the star QB is going to make a hell of a lot more money than the rowing team for example (with no disrespect to the rowing team).

Joined: 12/04/2010

MGoPoints: 12683

rice4114

September 2nd, 2020 at 4:04 PM ^

If you did everything exactly the same now. Same unis, stadium, crowd etc. Couldn't you have paid players that have the option to be students take the field? Throw in scholarships and classes if they want but just paid players and everything else is just as it is. Bigger the pocket book the better the team. Students can play but players don't have to be students.

I wouldn't care. Get on with it.

Joined: 08/26/2010

MGoPoints: 47288

ak47

September 2nd, 2020 at 5:10 PM ^

Wanting to play isn't good enough. The burden of proof is on them to prove that playing will not hurt anyone else. Will the players accept financial responsibility for medical treatment for any stadium staff or other support staff that works with the players? Will they pay for the thousands of tests that it will take to safely play? Can they guarantee that the thousands of tests will cause no testing backlogs for any other individuals in the community in terms of ability to get a test and get results in a timely manner?

Joined: 05/05/2011

MGoPoints: 33614

robpollard

September 2nd, 2020 at 4:32 PM ^

Don't we know this already? From Aidan Hutchinson, among many others?

It's clear that they feel UM has done an excellent job of providing for the health of the players, and the parents trust UM. Their kids love playing football, that's a huge reason (if not *the* reason) why they went to Michigan, and are (individually) at very low risk, so they want them to play.

The only thing that might be added from an interview is some political commentary, one way or the other, and while they are free to do that on their own Twitter & Facebook pages, I don't know how it would be illuminating to readers of the blog.

Joined: 06/03/2009

MGoPoints: 13966

RGard

September 2nd, 2020 at 2:45 PM ^

The mods might want to lock this thread before folks here start slamming the players and their parents.

Joined: 10/20/2014

MGoPoints: 57073

Wolverine Devotee

September 2nd, 2020 at 2:47 PM ^

I would go but my nephew’s 7th birthday party is on Saturday. 

Go and support if you can make it. 

Joined: 06/29/2009

MGoPoints: 31528

bronxblue

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^

I'll take the negs and say this is equally dumb.  I also think UM opening up the campus and letting students in was dumb.  But I've also seen this story play out enough times that it's not really worth getting overly worked up about anymore because it's just white noise to people.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171752

SFBlue

September 2nd, 2020 at 2:50 PM ^

The University knows how the team and parents feel. Bringing crowds of outsiders to campus during a pandemic is not going to help anybody, and may actually hurt. Harbaugh and others are making their case. Let the process play out. Worst case, we have football in January instead of October. Have some perspective here. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699

ndscott50

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^

I think you are undervaluing the role of continued pressure on leaders in situations like this and the ability of bureaucratic institutions to stick with the status quo in the absence of pressure. If nobody is continually calling for teams to play, there will not be any football until fall 2021.  If you are this group of player and parents and your goal is to play keeping up the pressure on the administration is key to making that happen

Also curious if your thoughts on this issue carries over to other protest occurring in the country?

Joined: 10/02/2009

MGoPoints: 5774

SFBlue

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:16 PM ^

Analogy to BLM protests is inapt.

There has been no agreement, at a certain point in the not too distant future, that police officers and others in America will show respect to black lives. The Big Ten will play football no later than January. 

There is a not a similar commitment to respecting black lives and enacting specific procedures and accommodation to show respect for black lives in the face of repeated and unjustified killing by police. The Big Ten schools are exploring using neutral stadiums, at great expense, to play football in the midst of a pandemic. They are also considering playing in October despite obvious health risks, including hundreds of positive cases at peer schools who have been practicing. 

This is a bad way to apply pressure. An in person rally on campus at Michigan will do little to show that Michigan should be playing football during COVID19. If anything, it suggests that Michigan fans are likely to have little if any respect for the procedures that will need to be in place to play football in a pandemic. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699

ndscott50

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^

You seemed to be arguing that a protest is not necessary or is the wrong approach. Now you are stating that the Big Ten will play football no later than January. You don’t know that and that is by no means guaranteed. It is not illogical for the parents and players to feel that continuing to make their voices heard about this issue is important to making football happen this season, be it in October or January. This brings this back to the, is it a good idea and/or helpful to protest during Covid argument.

I think it’s generally a bad idea to have large uncontrolled groups of people together protesting. That can be mitigated by keeping crowds smaller, outside and wearing mask when close to others. Its still a risk for Covid spread.  This is true regardless of what’s being protested.

I can support much of what BLM is standing up for and see an urgent need to address the issue of police violence while at the same time recognizing that large protest are creating an additional risk of Covid spread. If you want to look at a particularly vexing issue it would be that many protest are occurring in minority communities where Covid has disproportionately affected those populations.  

This idea that you can’t agree that police violence is a critical issue that needs to be addressed and is worthy of protest while also realizing that protest increase the spread of Covid in communities most at risk from it is ridiculous. Both can be true. Both are true.     

Joined: 10/02/2009

MGoPoints: 5774

The Mad Hatter

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:42 PM ^

I fully support the BLM protests, but I think at this point everyone should go home and stay there as much as possible.

Vote. Register people to vote. Drive people to the polls. Volunteer as a poll worker.

Then feel free to protest as much as you want starting on 1/21.

Joined: 02/17/2015

MGoPoints: 112109

MGoChippewa

September 2nd, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^

I generally disagreed with your sentiment in the first paragraph, but it seemed reasonable.  Then you just had to include that turd of a final line.  I don't blame you, I blame myself for not expecting it.

The two things are so different that they can't be compared.  That discussion also doesn't belong here.

Joined: 01/06/2011

MGoPoints: 11463

ndscott50

September 2nd, 2020 at 5:10 PM ^

I am not down with portraying the parents and players as uncaring or unconcerned with spreading Covid because they are holding a protest. Yes, they are taking a risk by holding this event. In their opinion they view this risk as acceptable vs. what they are trying to achieve. It’s completely legitimate to disagree with them on both the issue and how they are evaluating the risk involved. I don’t think it’s fair to simply throw out Covid as a reason they should not protest without acknowledging that there are issues where you think the value of the protest is greater than the risk of the protest.

Joined: 10/02/2009

MGoPoints: 5774