Minnesota GOP leaders ask Big Ten to play football this fall

(FOX 9) - The two top Republicans in Minnesota government are pushing the Big Ten to play football this fall, saying it would be "not dangerous" despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and House GOP Leader Kurt Daudt joined Republican legislative leaders from five other Midwest states in writing to Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren this week to ask the conference to reconsider its decision to postpone the season.

Top Minnesota Republicans call on Big Ten to play football

Leaders, including Sen. Paul Gazelka, want the Big Ten to play this fall.

"The risk outdoors of playing football is small," Gazelka said by phone Wednesday. "It’s just like a rite of passage. It’s just one of the activities they can do that is not dangerous for them to do."

The comments echo those from President Donald Trump, who has pushed the Big Ten to play games. The president has said recently, without evidence, that the conference is close to doing so.

In a statement released in response to the GOP letter, Big Ten officials did not announce any new changes.

"The conference will continue to work with the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors, as it has always done, to identify opportunities to resume competition as soon as it is safe to do so," Big Ten officials said in the statement.

The Big Ten's member universities voted 11-3 on Aug. 11 in favor of postponing the season, according to documents since filed in court. Ohio State, Nebraska and Iowa were the dissenting schools that wanted to forge ahead, multiple national reports have said.

University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel and Athletic Director Mark Coyle said at the time that medical evidence and expert perspectives "raise serious concerns about the safety of playing fall sports."

Gabel and Coyle's position "remains true now," said Jake Ricker, a university spokesman, in response to a question about the Republicans' letter.

Before the Big Ten halted its season, some teams were struggling even to hold practices because of positive coronavirus tests among athletes.

In their letter, the 10 GOP lawmakers said the Big Ten's member schools and students were at a disadvantage compared with the conferences that are moving ahead with the 2020 football season. The Big Ten and Pac 12 have postponed the season, while the three other Power Five conferences -- ACC, SEC and Big 12 -- are planning to play.

"These athletes are losing a vital part of student life and are becoming less marketable to future employers with each passing week. Additionally, our local universities stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars that support vital student scholarships," said the letter, which came from Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield.