In reaction to the threat of COVID-19, the Ivy League Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments were abruptly cancelled. This tournament determines which team receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Championship Tournament. 

The hypocrisy of our Ivy League presidents is baffling and alarming. We are disappointed and disheartened that they would discriminate against one sport and allow the others to continue to compete. Other conferences, such as the SEC and Pac - 12, are still scheduled to host their men’s basketball championship tournaments. These tournaments are scheduled to start March 11 or later.

Every single team in this league devotes their entire year to reaching this level of competition. We feel the decision to cancel the tournament was made without enough serious consideration for the student athletes and the investments that have been made up to this point in our season. This is the pinnacle of what we have worked for since August. 

In addition, the careers of our senior players are being cut undeservedly short. Devon Goodman, a senior point guard on the Penn men’s team, will not be able to achieve his goal of 1,000 points in his career due to this tournament cancellation - a goal which is a dream for every college basketball player. He currently has 998 points. 

More concern about the spread of the virus would have led to the cancellation of not only all other tournaments, but all other sporting events as well. This weekend, other Ivy League teams are still scheduled to compete on the East Coast and across the country, with a limited amount of spectators. As of right now, Yale Women’s Lacrosse is flying to California to compete against Fresno State and multiple Ivy League baseball and softball teams are competing in Florida. Additionally, Ivy League wrestlers are flying to Minneapolis to compete in the NCAA tournament. 

If it is deemed safe enough for teams to travel to higher level tournaments, then it should be safe enough for us to travel locally for the chance to compete. This is discrimination against the Ivy League men’s and women’s basketball teams. 

We just want to play. As much as we want our family and friends to be in attendance, we don’t need spectators to play the sport we love. We acknowledge that this is a serious health issue and that there is a lot to consider in finding an alternate solution. However, we are ready and willing to invest the time and energy  to ensure that we can compete in the Ivy League tournament. 

Sincerely,

Members of the Ivy League Men’s and Women’s Basketball Team