A group of Nebraska football parents wants the Big Ten to provide it with all documentation related to any votes that were taken to postpone or cancel the conference's 2020 college football season and all fall sports, or else face a lawsuit to force their release.
The parents, through attorney Mike Flood, sent the conference a letter Thursday demanding transparency. Their focus is on the Big Ten's voting procedures and any medical information it received prior to voting.
Letter to the Big Ten office and Commissioner Kevin Warren from Nebraska Football parents and attorney Mike Flood. Our student athletes deserve some answers. #GBR pic.twitter.com/yVP0JZLvNo
— Nebraska Cornhusker Football Parents (@ParentsNebraska) August 21, 2020
The conference has until Monday to provide the materials, Flood wrote. If it fails to meet that deadline, then the group will ask a federal judge in Nebraska to order their release. The parents will also ask for unspecified "immediate relief" from the judge.
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Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren announced Aug. 11 that sports would not played in the fall semester. Warren did not announce a vote count. He cited athletes' health as the reason for the cancellation.
"As time progressed and after hours of discussion with our Big Ten Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Big Ten Sports Medicine Committee, it became abundantly clear that there was too much uncertainty regarding potential medical risks to allow our student-athletes to compete this fall," Warren said in a statement.
Warren wrote in an open letter Wednesday that "(t)he vote by the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors (COP/C) was overwhelmingly in support of postponing fall sports and will not be revisited."
Reports this week, including by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, said that the Big Ten could begin playing football in early January.
Nebraska, led by coach Scott Frost, was among the strongest advocates in the conference for the fall season to be played. Frost went so far as to say the university would explore "other options" if there was no Big Ten season.
Parents of players at Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Iowa parents have spoken out against the cancellations as well.
The most recognizable names on the parents' list are Ed and Lisa McCaffrey. Their son Luke plays for the Cornhuskers. Ed McCaffrey is a former NFL wide receiver. Their son Christian is one of the NFL's best running backs.
