California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses Pac-12's push to play
As the Big Ten announced on Wednesday plans to launch its football season the weekend of Oct. 24, all eyes turned to the Pac-12 and more specifically to government officials in the states of California and Oregon, as half of the conference's schools do not have clearance to conduct full practices yet.
USC's players had penned an open letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday with the message of "We want to play," football players from other Pac-12 schools joined the chorus on Twitter, and on Wednesday Newsom was asked about the Pac-12's push to return to action during his broader news conference addressing the wildfires and the pandemic.
"We put out guidelines a month or so ago, and we aligned them -- we worked with the NCAA and we aligned them with the NCAA -- there's nothing in the state guidelines that denies the Pac-12 from having conference games," Newsom said. "There's nothing in our guidelines the state put out that denies these games from occurring. ... I want to make this crystal clear -- nothing in the state guidelines deny the ability for the Pac-12 to resume. Quite the contrary. That has been a misrepresentation of the facts."
It's all about semantics.
The state's guidelines stipulate that colleges "should establish cohorts as a strategy to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19. A cohort may be composed of six to 12 individuals, all members of the same team, who consistently work out and participate in activities together. Cohorts should avoid mixing with other groups."
It's hard to hold a football practice where one group of 12 doesn't mix with another group of 12 -- that's in direct contrast to the very nature of the game.
UPDATE: Pac-12 announces encouraging update for prospects of a fall football season
"We put out very, I thought, thoughtful guidelines, again in partnership with the NCAA about cohorting during workouts and practices. Now this manifests very differently depending on the sport," Newsom said. "Basketball cohorting of up to 12 may be a little easier than football up to 12, but offensive teams, defensive teams are able to coordinate and practice and the like."
Yet, hours later the Pac-12 put out a statement from commissioner Larry Scott indicating that obstacle was no more and that "there are no state restrictions on our ability to play sports" without explicitly explaining what specifically had changed.
Newsom seemed to take exception earlier in the day to the perception that the state was the opposition to Pac-12 football, answering a later follow-up question even more succinctly.
"They can resume football. There's nothing in the guidelines that say the Pac-12 cannot move forward -- period, full stop. I just want to make that crystal clear," he said.
The most important thing the governor expressed, though, was a seeming willingness to have an open dialogue with the Pac-12 regarding the cohorting guidelines. If college football fans are looking for any source of optimism and encouragement that the Pac-12 can join the rest of the Power 5 conferences in setting a start date for a season, it was at the end of this comment:
"I talked to Larry Scott about two hours ago, so we're committed to working with the Pac-12, working with the NCAA to keep our kids safe, to keep our coaches safe, to keep coaching staff and friends and family safe, and to keep the larger campus community safe," Newsom said. "Remember, these are student-athletes. They're not isolated in a bubble as some of our NBA superstars are. They need to be integrated in one way, shape or form with an academic paradigm -- by definition, that's what student-athletes are supposedly all about. That's a deeper issue for all of us is to make sure the academic rigor is such that we're doing justice to that paradigm and principle. But none the less, there is nothing in those state guidelines that deny these games from resuming.
"So once again I look forward to working as we have been in a constructive dialogue with the Pac-12 and NCAA on testing issues. Again, good progress in that space, and as it relates to cohorting, we are certainly willing to engage and have now engaged the Pac-12 in that discussion as well."
A few hours after the news conference, Bay Area News Group's Jon Wilner tweeted out that Newsom's office had reached out to USC officials and that there is a plan to revise the maximum 12-person cohort guideline.
Then came the Pac-12 announcement and statement from Scott.
Meanwhile, up north, Charles Boyle, a spokesman for Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced that the state has granted Oregon and Oregon State exemption from the state's sports competition guidelines pending approval of written health plans.
As Scott noted in his statement, though, there are further obstacles in regard to obtaining a green light from local county authorities, including LA County.