Column: The coming crisis

James Franklin’s opening lines were purposeful.

Making a final plea for Big Ten decision-makers to “delay, seek clarity, build the safest environment” for players, and to “make the best decision” this week, the Nittany Lions’ head coach didn’t wait to explain why. Already having fought a four-month battle to keep players engaged, the program disbanding in March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic before eventually returning in waves in June, the fundamental element of the profession was being overlooked.

“The last month, in particular, has been taxing on our student-athletes’ mental well-being,” Franklin wrote. “We have many unanswered questions; we need transparency and direction in this process. Our student-athletes, parents, staff, fans and university deserve it, as does our game.”

In that sense, my headline is misleading.

At Penn State and many other major college athletics programs across the country, a mental health crisis isn’t just coming. It’s already here.

In no way should this come as a surprise. Worldwide, the ability for the populace to cope with and adjust to the realities of an unprecedented pandemic is undoubtedly a challenge faced everywhere.

But in a world of college athletics in which mental health has already been a focal point in recent years, the incredible pressures of challenges of performing as a student-athlete at this level manifesting themselves on an ever-growing basis, the point is especially true now.

Grappling himself with the markedly different reality of April compared to the few short weeks prior in March when dealing with Penn State football players to complete their winter workouts, strength coordinator Dwight Galt suggested motivation would be one of the biggest hurdles to clear.

“I think that the big word right now might be boredom. Not with just their daily ritual, because that's a whole other question and that certainly comes in there too, but really, just the programming we can do,” Galt said.

“I think it's a big challenge for us to continue to find ways to motivate them and keep them motivated.”

After Tuesday’s decision by Big Ten presidents to not just delay the start of the 2020 football season, but to postpone it completely until at least the spring, consider that challenge that much more substantial.

Due to the decision, Franklin and the Nittany Lion program allowed players to immediately return home if they wanted, coming and going as they please until the start of the fall academic semester on August 24. The ramping up of workouts spanning from early June into July, then eventually into the Aug. 7 start of preseason camp, demonstrated a remarkable level of discipline from Penn State as a program in limiting viral outbreaks while working toward the goal of a season to commence Sept. 5.

That goal is now gone. Worse, without determining a course of action, even if temporary, the Big Ten has compounded the impact of the uncertainty currently wracking the psyche of student-athletes and their families.

As described to Blue White Illustrated by one athletic department contact, that uncertainty, let alone the lack of an established goal, is enough to crack the stability of many athletes at this level.

Asked about the elements of accountability and motivation and their potential impact on the program early in the process this spring, Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen was confident that, at least initially, the Nittany Lions were tight enough to weather the storm.

“I do feel there's been great shared accountability with what our guys are doing. I think they're still highly motivated,” Bowen said this spring. “Obviously, the longer this thing goes, just like we're all human, motivation wanes here and there.

“At some point, we will do all of these things again. At some point, life will return to normal, knock on wood. So that's been the message to those guys.”

A group of individuals remarkably motivated by goals, be it either incremental or substantial in the long run, the Big Ten and its brethren have a responsibility to quickly reestablish what those now might be.

In no small manner, the mental health of their student-athletes depends on it.

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