Kristina Johnson still believes the Big Ten can play football this fall.
In an interview with NBC4 on Tuesday, the new Ohio State president – one of only three Big Ten chancellors and presidents who voted against postponing fall sports – said she believes the conference can get the protocols in place for football to be played safely this fall.
“We’ve learned about how we can have what’s called a clean field,” Johnson said. Players on the field that are negative, that can play, that we can be playing football. And we’re working through that process. We’re working with the Big Ten, we’re working with the commissioner, to try and get in place those medical protocols, where we can keep our students safe. And that’s really what it comes down to. We want to make sure that our athletes get a shot. Because they’ve worked really hard. And they deserve a shot to play. At the same time, we want to make sure that they’re safe. So we’re doing our work. We’ll come back, and I’m very hopeful that we’ll be playing football this fall.”
Johnson also noted, though, that doesn't necessarily mean playing in October or even November.
“Fall is a long period of time,” Johnson said. “Fall goes ‘til December 20th. I see that there’s a path to football. People talk about winter, early spring, late fall, winter, those things are all being worked out. Again, I come back to our campuses need to be safe, and that means in the performances as well as in the classrooms, we’re working very hard to do that. And if we all do our part, wear a mask, stay six feet apart, wash our hands, then I think that we’ve got the procedures in place to go forward.”
Johnson doesn't know when a decision will be made on when the Big Ten will return to the football field, but she says there are multiple subcommittees within the conference working daily to try to come up with those answers.
“There’s a medical committee, there’s a scheduling committee, and these committees are working very diligently every day about how to put in place those protocols that will keep it safe,” Johnson said. “So as soon as possible. It’s certainly something that we’ll be watching with the commissioner, and integrating obviously our views and those of our colleagues.”
