I'm having a hard time understanding the decision not to play in a bowl game.
I recall JP saying we were going to play in a bowl game during his Friday press conference. But then players just decided not to play and that's that? Who is running the show here?
Is their justification really plausible? "Members of the athletics administrative team and the previous coaching staff met with the players this morning and had a robust discussion about the team's ability to play in a post season bowl game. After that discussion, the players voted not to play in a post-season game due to lack of health players to safely practice and play."
Um what? Didn't the team just compete against Oklahoma State just over a week ago? And wouldn't a post season game include several weeks to get injured players healthy? This justification is hard to believe.
Furthermore, what are members of the previous coaching staff doing in this conversation about playing or not playing? That could be a conflict of interest if they are angling to get hired at Penn State. Could they be nudging ISU best players not to play in the bowl game and avoid injury in exchange for those players transferring to Penn State (and its bigger NIL) when the portal re-opens in early January?
This decision also costs the team an extra month of practice, which is typically a time when younger players get a lot of reps and helps jump start the following spring practice. Why give that up?
Then there's the financial impact: Missing out on the bowl game payout on top of $500K fine. Maybe ISU Athletics has plenty of money sitting around, but why take that hit at all?
Finally, who is representing the interests of the thousands of Cyclone faithful who have given to the We Will Collective in the effort to retain players? A lot of us have donated to the collective and expect the players we pay to play. Most of us just can't go tell our bosses we don't feel like doing our jobs anymore and expect to get paid.
Somebody please tell me what I am missing.
I recall JP saying we were going to play in a bowl game during his Friday press conference. But then players just decided not to play and that's that? Who is running the show here?
Is their justification really plausible? "Members of the athletics administrative team and the previous coaching staff met with the players this morning and had a robust discussion about the team's ability to play in a post season bowl game. After that discussion, the players voted not to play in a post-season game due to lack of health players to safely practice and play."
Um what? Didn't the team just compete against Oklahoma State just over a week ago? And wouldn't a post season game include several weeks to get injured players healthy? This justification is hard to believe.
Furthermore, what are members of the previous coaching staff doing in this conversation about playing or not playing? That could be a conflict of interest if they are angling to get hired at Penn State. Could they be nudging ISU best players not to play in the bowl game and avoid injury in exchange for those players transferring to Penn State (and its bigger NIL) when the portal re-opens in early January?
This decision also costs the team an extra month of practice, which is typically a time when younger players get a lot of reps and helps jump start the following spring practice. Why give that up?
Then there's the financial impact: Missing out on the bowl game payout on top of $500K fine. Maybe ISU Athletics has plenty of money sitting around, but why take that hit at all?
Finally, who is representing the interests of the thousands of Cyclone faithful who have given to the We Will Collective in the effort to retain players? A lot of us have donated to the collective and expect the players we pay to play. Most of us just can't go tell our bosses we don't feel like doing our jobs anymore and expect to get paid.
Somebody please tell me what I am missing.
