Petition Calls for Ivy League to Reinstate Canceled Conference Tournaments

Hours after the Ivy League canceled its men's and women's basketball conference tournaments over the coronavirus outbreak, some players have signed a petition asking to reinstate this weekend's event.

Penn's Liz Satter tweeted a link to the petition on change.org and asked people to sign it in an effort to help bring back the tournaments.

"My teammates, and the other athletes on these teams, deserve the chance to compete in this tournament," she said.

"The hypocrisy of our Ivy League presidents is baffling and alarming. We are disappointed and disheartened that they would discriminate against one sport and allow the others to continue to compete," the petition said. "Other conferences, such as the SEC and Pac-12, are still scheduled to host their men’s basketball championship tournaments.

"Every single team in this league devotes their entire year to reaching this level of competition. We feel the decision to cancel the tournament was made without enough serious consideration for the student athletes and the investments that have been made up to this point in our season. This is the pinnacle of what we have worked for since August."

The petition called out the league for its "discrimination" against the men’s and women’s basketball teams and noted how other teams are still traveling to games. The Yale women’s lacrosse team is heading to California play against Fresno State, while Ivy League wrestlers plan to go to a national tournament in Minneapolis.

Penn forward AJ Brodeur told The Philadelphia Inquirer that players around the league did not expect this decision, and he thinks the Penn's women's basketball team started the petition in response to it.

"We earned the spot," Brodeur said. "We earned more than just an extra game. We earned the opportunity to show the league, this is who we are."

Penn's women's basketball coach Mike McLaughlin added how his team is struggling to process the news.

"To allow these other sports to continue this weekend and cancel this tournament is really hard to explain to your young ladies," McLaughlin said. "It's not OK for them to play, for their safety, while it's OK for others. It’s wrong in so many ways. ...The hypocrisy is difficult for really mature young ladies to accept."

The Ivy League announced the regular season champions–Princeton's women's team and Yale's men's team–are automatic qualifiers for the NCAA tournament.

"We understand and share the disappointment with student-athletes, coaches and fans who will not be able to participate in these tournaments," Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris said in a statement. "Regrettably, the information and recommendations presented to us from public health authorities and medical professionals have convinced us that this is the most prudent decision."

After the league shared the news, Harvard guard Bryce Aiken took to Twitter to express his disappointment over the decision.

"Horrible, horrible, horrible decision and total disregard for the players and teams that have put their hearts into this season," Aiken said. "Everyone knows the risk of playing!"

All tickets for the Ivy League tournament, which was slated to be held at Harvard University, will be refunded in full. The women's tournament was scheduled for March 13 and 14, while the men's was set for March 14 and 15.

The virus has infected over 700 people in the U.S. and killed at least 27, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession. On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts as the number of people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in the state jumped by 51 to 92. Worldwide, nearly 120,000 have been infected and over 4,200 have died.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.