Big Ten Daily (Jan. 25): Michigan Athletes Ask to Play, Want Two-Week Pause Overturned
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The coalition of student-athletes at Michigan have put out a statement regarding the recent two-week pause placed on the athletic department due to a new COVID-19 variant on the UM campus.
The novel strain was first introduced at the beginning of the semester by a U-M athlete traveling from the United Kingdom. All members of the athletic department are expected to quarantine for 14 days.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services initiated this pause, not the athletic department.
With that being said, the athletes at Michigan want the decision to be reversed.
Michigan wrestler Myles Amine put out the statement on Twitter.
"While we, the student athletes at the University of Michigan, understand the severity of this virus and take it very seriously, we believe that this mandate from the MDHHS (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services) is unnecessary and should not only be reconsidered, but overturned."
The statement argued that placing healthy athletes in quarantine is "unnecessary and excessive." It also argues that this should be handled on a team-to-team basis and it is "unfair to the athletes who have followed all protocols necessary to compete and have had no contact with the confirmed cases."
They hope that all athletes who are healthy can return to athletic-related activities.
Below is the full statement from the coalition of Michigan athletes:
Parity of Conference Evident Over Weekend
Big Ten basketball has always been one of the top conferences, if not the best conference, in college basketball.
The parity of the league was once again on full display from the games this weekend.
First there was Minnesota, who last seen handed Michigan its first loss of the season. But on Saturday, the Gophers lost to Maryland. The Terrapins are 3-6 in the conference with all three wins being ranked road wins.
Then there was Ohio State, who had been hot for awhile but suffered a loss to Purdue at home early last week. The Buckeyes followed that up by dominating Wisconsin on the road on Saturday.
Lastly there was Indiana, who took down No. 4 Iowa on the road on Thursday, just to come back home Sunday and lose to Rutgers, who was previously on a five-game losing streak.
Six teams are still within 2.5 games of each other for the Big Ten lead. Anything can happen on any night in this conference, which should make for an entertaining finish to league play.
Six Big Ten Teams Ranked in Top 25
The newest Associated Press Top-25 rankings were released Monday for college basketball.
Six Big Ten teams find themselves ranked inside the top 25. Michigan is the top one at No. 4. The Wolverines are currently on a two-week pause.
Iowa comes in at No. 7, Ohio State at No. 13, Wisconsin at No. 14, Illinois at No. 19 and Minnesota at No. 21.
Below is the full AP Top 25 Poll:
1. Gonzaga (15-0)
2. Baylor (14-0)
3. Villanova (10-1)
4. Michigan (13-1)
5. Texas (11-2)
6. Houston (13-1)
7. Iowa (12-3)
8. Virginia (10-2)
9. Alabama (13-3)
10. Texas Tech (11-4)
11. West Virginia (10-4)
12. Missouri (10-2)
13. Ohio State (12-4)
14. Wisconsin (12-4)
15. Kansas (10-5)
16. Florida State (9-2)
17. Creighton (11-4)
18. Tennessee (10-3)
19. Illinois (10-5)
20. Virginia Tech (11-3)
21. Minnesota (11-5)
22. Saint Louis (7-1)
23. UCLA (12-3)
24. Oklahoma (9-4)
25. Louisville (10-3)
Others receiving votes:
Boise State 108, Drake 75, Colorado 59, USC 50, Oklahoma State 49, Oregon 49, Florida 37, Connecticut 20, Winthrop 16, Xavier 14, Loyola Chicago 12, BYU 11, Purdue 11, Belmont 9, Clemson 8, St. Bonaventure 6, Toledo 4, Arizona 4
Related Stories:
- THREE OBSERVATIONS FROM INDIANA LOSS: Tom Brew's three honest observations from Indiana's 74-70 loss to Rutgers. CLICK HERE
- RUTGERS BEATS INDIANA: Here's the game story from Rutgers' 74-70 win over Indiana on Sunday at Assembly Hall. CLICK HERE
- MICHIGAN PAUSES FOR2 WEEKS: The state health department has put Michigan athletics on pause for two weeks, which means Indiana's game at Ann Arbor on Saturday is postponed. CLICK HERE
