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Kevin Warren's Filibuster at Big Ten Media Days Leaves Fans Hanging

Warren says he has no regrets on how he handled the 2020 season and would have made the same decisions if he could do it all over.

It’s extremely rare that the State of the Big Ten address is the highlight of a Media Days, but it was far-and-away the most anticipated part of the 2-day affair in Indianapolis this week.

It didn’t take very long for the air to be let out of that balloon.

Kevin Warren spoke at Big Ten Media Days in front of more than 100 hungry media members who were eager to ask him some tough questions.

He talked, and talked, and talked.

Warren’s comments were polished and awfully thorough. He spent the vast majority of his 45 minutes reading prepared remarks. It was a helluva filibuster.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren addresses the media from Lucas Oil Stadium during Big Ten Media Days.

Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren addresses the media from Lucas Oil Stadium during Big Ten Media Days.

It also shouldn’t come as a surprise. He needed to control the message on Thursday and he did exactly that.

Warren spoke at length about how 2020 was one of the best years of his life. He elaborated on how much he learned and how grateful he is. He also said that had he been given a chance to do it all over again, he would make the same choices (while admitting he could have had some better communication).

In fact, he went nearly the entire 45 minutes without even being asked if he regretted anything about the way last year unfolded. Believe it or not, that was the very last question asked of him Thursday morning.

He really wasn’t asked any particularly difficult questions. The Commissioner answered each question thoughtfully and respectfully, but if you were hoping for Warren’s feet to be held to the fire during his first in-person appearance in front of the media since CoVID-19 began, you wound up sorely disappointed.

No ifs, ands or buts about it – from Kevin Warren’s perspective, that couldn’t have gone any better. But it certainly wasn't what fans were hoping for today.

At this point, as Buckeye fans, it’s time to move on from the massive headaches that plagued the 2020 season – many of which can be traced back to Rosemont, Illinois at Big Ten HQ. The perception of conference leadership may not be particularly positive, but the gap between Ohio State and the rest of the league right now is so wide that the Buckeyes will be the team to beat until someone knocks them off the mountain top.

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