#LetThemPlay Protest Takeaway: Michigan Players Want Answers
On Saturday, Sept. 5, Michigan was supposed to open its season on the road against Washington. Then when the Big Ten released a conference-only schedule, Sept. 5 marked the day Michigan would open the season with Purdue. Instead, it became a day when Michigan football players, parents and fans would fight for the team they love's ability to play.
“It was a hard pill to swallow, frankly, but I mean we are trying to be hopeful that something will arise soon and we can still play at some point,” U-M quarterback Dylan McCaffrey said. “We are pretty hopeful. You've got to keep being helpful or else the media will get you down. We are working every day like we have a game tomorrow.”
During the #LetThemPlay protest on Michigan's campus Saturday, the level of disconnect became clear between the football team and those who decided to postpone the football season on behalf of the team, mainly U-M President Mark Schlissel.
While the Wolverines have implemented rigid safety protocols and an advanced testing program that couples with players vigilantly quarantining themselves from the rest of campus, Michigan football feels that it has taken all the appropriate measures needed to play football this fall. That statement in and of itself was one of the main takeaways from yesterday's demonstration.
“We are hoping to get the word out that it wasn't our decision not to play at all,” McCaffrey said. “Our players were fully supportive of it. We frankly didn't really know they were going to cancel. They kind of egged us on. They gave us a schedule. We were doing well. We had, I think it was three full team tests in a row, zero cases. We were doing everything like you're supposed to do then your season got stripped for us right at a time where things were looking really up for us, up for us as a program, up for players in general. We are here to almost vent and hopefully something changes in the process.”
McCaffrey has come out in vocal support of the football team's steps taken to remain safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Michigan has been proactive in its testing and continues to follow recommended procedure, trust between the team and the administration has eroded, specifically that of Schlissel.
“It seemed from our point of view a little shady,” McCaffrey said. “We didn't hear anything. We were getting our information from Twitter, and we're the ones it's directly effecting. We just feel the decisions were made by a lot of people that it doesn't directly effect. I guess we want to know exactly who was involved and who voted against it. In that, we'd love to just be able to talk to them and share our point of view as well, which we feel we were not able to share at all.”
Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson also added that he is a mixture of confused and irritated at the decision making process at play.
“It is frustrating,” Hutchinson said. “I don't even know if he made a decision that day to cancel the season. I've heard a lot of rumors. I just don't even know. I've never personally seen him. It is weird that he's making that decision for us even though he hasn't seen our protocols firsthand. He hasn't even seen our practices firsthand. It's crazy to know that.”
Later in the day, Schlissel released a video on social media that encourages the students at Michigan to remain safe and practice social distancing wherever possible. It is a video that shares a positive message, but it seems to be too little too late. If students can take classes on campus and high school football was given the green light in Michigan, then why can't the Wolverines take the field for a handful of Saturdays this fall? That is one question many still seek an answer to.
“We haven't stopped practicing, so mentally I'm here,” Hutchinson said. “Just physically, put the pads on and I'm ready to go. Nothing has changed since we've been back post-quarantine. We are all adhering to the protocols. We are all wearings masks. We are all doing what we have to do to get this thing reinstated.”
Overall, the Michigan football team wants answers. Why was the decision to postpone the fall season made when the university was experiencing such success in mitigating the spread of the virus? If the team cannot play now, when can it return to the field? And what does Michigan need to do to help make that happen?
These are all questions that should have been answered a long time ago. McCaffrey, Hutchinson and other players should not need to march in the street in order to receive the courtesy of communication regarding their athletic careers, and they certainly don't need to be finding out the twists and turns of the football season from social media.
What do you think of how this situation has been handled? Are they players asking fair questions or has the administration handled everything well? Let us know!
