Herm Edwards advocates safety following NCAA president’s remarks

Arizona State football head coach Herm Edwards expressed caution in rushing to return to college football when he joined ESPN’s First Take on Monday.

The veteran coach is entering his third season leading the Sun Devils, but the college football season at large hangs in the balance with the coronavirus pandemic threatening more cancelations or postponements. NCAA president Mark Emmert recently said in an interview posted to the NCAA’s Twitter account that college sports won’t return if schools aren’t back in session.

“If you don’t have students on campus, you don’t have student-athletes on campus,” Emmert said, as transcribed by The Associated Press. “That doesn’t mean it has to be up and running in the full normal model, but you’ve got to treat the health and well-being of the athletes at least as much as the regular students.

“So if a school doesn’t reopen, then they’re not going to be playing sports. It’s really that simple.”

The hosts of First Take asked Edwards where he stands on the president’s remarks.

“I understand exactly where he’s coming from,” Edwards said. “The last time I checked, this football game, this football thing, it’s not a social distancing sport by any stretch of the imagination. And with that being said, if there’s no students on campus, you’re sending the signal that you feel it’s not quite safe for them to return to campus. Well, if that’s the case, why is it safe for the players to play football, then?

“I think the mentality always has to be the safety of the players as well as the fans. I think pro football, these are professional football players. Last time I checked, the game I coach is college football, they’re student-athletes first. And by the way, being a student-athlete, they have a guardian that has a decision to make in this decision as well: their parents.”

ASU and the rest of the college sports world already had to cancel spring sports, and it’s not clear whether college sports will get back between the lines as originally scheduled.

“Energy and emotion make the world go ’round but facts and common sense slows us down,” Edwards said. “And I think we’ve done a nice job of slowing down and trying re-think ourselves and say, ‘How can we make this happen where it’s going to be safe for the players as well as if the fans are in the stands?'”

Edwards also pointed out the complexities of playing across states. He contemplated: What if Arizona is back to a relative normal while California still has prohibitive restrictions? That, along with the massive groups of people that come standard with a college football game, presents issues.

“Remember, there’s 100 college football players on both sidelines,” Edwards said. “That’s a lot of young men with coaches. That’s approximately 150 people on both sides; that’s 300 people just on the sidelines and up in the press box. How do we make this work?”

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