Amanda Babb didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she accepted the opportunity to be the new president of Football Parents at Ohio State.
When Tamar Williamson, the mother of Ohio State cornerback Marcus Williamson and the former president of FPAOS, asked Babb – the stepmother of wide receiver Kamryn Babb – if she was interested in taking over as the new president this year, Babb thought her role was just going to consist of planning tailgates, connecting parents with each other and other similar responsibilities.
Over the past month, however, Babb’s role as FPAOS president has evolved into what she says has been “like a full-time second job.”
When it started to become apparent early last month that the Big Ten was on the verge of postponing fall sports, the FPAOS board – led by Babb – sprung into action. On Aug. 9, FPAOS members crafted a letter they shared on social media that said, in part, “We strongly believe our sons want to play the upcoming season and have full trust the university and coaching staff along with medical experts have found a safe way for that to occur.”
That plea proved to be too little, too late, as the Big Ten proceeded forward with shutting down fall sports just two days later. But Babb and many other parents of Ohio State football players haven’t stopped fighting since.
Four days after the decision, FPAOS sent another letter to Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, in which they asked for either the fall season to be reinstated or a detailed plan to be provided for an alternate season, as well as transparency on how the decision was made and a Zoom meeting between Warren, players and parents. As those demands have largely gone unanswered so far, parents have continued to be vocal about why they think their sons should have the opportunity to play this fall and what they still want to hear from the Big Ten, both on social media and elsewhere, including a rally outside Ohio Stadium that Babb and the FPAOS helped organize on Saturday.
“This has turned into a job that I never expected. And I think our board can say the same thing, and I really want to thank them, because it’s been a tireless journey I would say in the last three to four weeks,” Babb said during Saturday’s rally. “We have Zoom calls, we have a group text message between all of the board members that you guys would not believe. I think we text 50 to probably 70 times a day, and I can show it to you on my phone, and we’re really out here to fight for these players, fight for you as Buckeye fans, fight for us as parents.”
Other parents of Ohio State football players who serve on the FPAOS board include vice president Jim Gant, the father of linebacker Dallas Gant; secretary Jo Ann Fields, the stepmother of quarterback Justin Fields; and treasurer Loris Petit-Frere, the mother of offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere. Holly Hoak (mother of quarterback Gunnar Hoak), Michelle Smith (mother of defensive end Tyreke Smith), Kristina Miller (mother of guard Harry Miller) and Monica Johnson (mother of offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.) serve as reps for the senior, junior, sophomore and freshman classes, while Nancy Werner (mother of linebacker Pete Werner), Julie Kacherski (mother of linebacker Cade Kacherski), Renee O’Shaughnessy (mother of punter Michael O’Shaughnessy), Deb Rossi (mother of tight end/running back Mitch Rossi) and Michelle and Mike McCullough (parents of long snapper Roen McCullough) are also among those who have roles on the board.
Together, many of them have been among those leading the charge by Ohio State parents to advocate for their sons to have an opportunity to play football this fall. And they believe the connections that they already built with each other through FPAOS – a 501(c)(3) non-profit group that has existed since 2003, but has never before had such a publicly visible presence as it does right now – have made it easier for them to come together and fight for a common cause while sharing their message with a wider audience.
“I have a friend whose son plays for Indiana … Indiana has a team mom, that’s it,” Nancy Werner told Eleven Warriors. “They don’t have a board, they don’t have a non-profit group. … And it’s just hard to get hundreds of kids’ parents together. So the board setup has been perfect for what we’ve been able to do.”
It certainly hasn’t only been parents who are on the board of FPAOS who have played active roles in advocating for their sons over the past month. Randy Wade, the father of cornerback Shaun Wade, organized a rally outside Big Ten headquarters on Aug. 21 and also led Saturday’s rally at the Shoe. Corey Teague, the father of running back Master Teague III, and Tim Potter, the father of defensive end Noah Potter, were both involved in crafting the letter that FPAOS sent to Warren.
Andrea Tate, the mother of cornerback Sevyn Banks, and Kyle Borland, the father of linebacker Tuf Borland, spoke at both the rallies in Rosemont, Illinois two weeks ago and in Columbus on Saturday; Gee Scott Sr., the father of wide receiver Gee Scott Jr., also made the trip to Columbus to speak at Saturday’s protest; and many other parents have also been speaking up on social media.
The parents at Ohio State have also joined forces with parent groups from many other schools around the conference to form #B1GParentsUnited; together, those parent groups sent another open letter to Warren last week that called for more transparency from the conference, a parent organization forum in which they could ask Warren questions and a plan of action from the conference’s Return to Competition Task Force.
Kelly Farrell, the mother of Ohio State tight end Luke Farrell, holds a #B1GParentsUnited sign at Saturday's rally outside Ohio Stadium.
Collectively, those parents have become a powerful voice putting pressure on the Big Ten – pressure that appears to be working, as more and more rumors surface that the conference could still end up playing football at some point this fall after all – as they’ve made it clear they not only disagree with the conference’s decision, but with the process in which they went about making the decision and the lack of communication they have received from the conference since the decision.
“We’re all kind of fighting the same fight,” Babb told Eleven Warriors. “So it’s been great to have just this large network of people that kind of believe in the same thing that you do.”
While some people have questioned why the parents are the ones speaking out for their sons, given that their sons are adults, many of them feel as though they have more freedom to speak up because they are not direct representatives of Ohio State or the Big Ten themselves.
“We’ve come together – when I say we, the parents here at Ohio State, as well as all the other parent groups throughout the Big Ten conference that’s coming together and being the spokesperson for them – because our players cannot come out and speak,” Monica Johnson said. “So they are excited that we’re here speaking on their behalf, because I’m out here because this is what Paris wants. And I wouldn’t be here if he did not want this.”
Ohio State’s coaches also don’t have as much liberty to criticize the Big Ten publicly – although offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and director of player personnel Mark Pantoni were at Saturday’s rally, they did not speak to the crowd – but Babb said she has been in regular communication with Ryan Day and the rest of the Buckeyes’ staff and that they have thrown their support behind the parents speaking out.
“We’re here to support the coaches and the parents, and to kind of be that liaison between the coaching staff and the parents to really inform the parents what’s going on,” Babb said.
While the football players will eventually be back on the field playing games, and the drama of the past month will at some point subside, the Football Parents at Ohio State now have a bigger platform than they have ever had before to advocate for their sons. And while their current focus is on trying to get answers from the Big Ten and help their sons get the opportunity to play a season, they could certainly use that platform to advocate for other causes going forward, as well.
One such example already came last week, when FPAOS’ official Twitter account shared a video vowing to fight for change following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
On the 3 month anniversary of George Floyds death, with still no justice for Breonna Taylor, & now Jacob Blake struggling to survive, we at @fpaos_board will #Fight for change. https://t.co/rTUH2HuMEB
— FPAOS Family Unit (@fpaos_board) August 26, 2020
Randy Wade, whose shirt that he wore to Saturday’s rally included the letters “BLM” written on the sleeve, said he believes those who are speaking out about the postponement of the football season should use their platforms to talk about other issues in the world, as well.
“I kind of feel bad because sometimes, there’s so many important things going on in the world, us playing is very important – it’s crucial – but it doesn’t compare to voting, it doesn’t compare to the Black Lives Matter movement and things that are going on like that,” Wade said. “So I kind of feel sometimes that I want to put that stuff on there, because I want people to know that those are things that are way, way more important than what I’m fighting for. Because at the end of the day, we don’t play in the fall, we don’t play in the spring, we play next fall, those issues are probably still gonna be around.”
