“Ultimately, I think our voices weren’t fully heard,” said Malinowski, who has fought .362 in more than two seasons and plans to join Virginia Tech next fall and play as a graduate student.
“There was still some kind of biased lens,” said Josh Nicoloff, a senior Columbia infielder who had trained at home at Ladera Ranch in California. “I understand health is a top priority, but I think the decision shows that.” how much they looked in the letter and heard our voices. If they had really listened, the decision would have been different. “
Last week the Ivy League announced that it would be deviating from tradition and allowing graduate students to play for the next academic year. However, such a concession was not to be expected to affect many athletes like Malinowski, given the difficulty of attending an Ivy League graduate school (especially after a late application) and costing an extra year in colleges that don’t give athletic scholarships.
Some coaches and players saw this decision as a sign that the spring season is about to be canceled.
However, by Thursday, many of them were exercising as much as health protocols would allow.
In Columbia, where most students have not returned to the Manhattan campus, and in Cornell, where students have been welcome since this semester, baseball players could only train on their own.
At Dartmouth, the baseball team would consist almost entirely of newbies and seniors as the campus will only be open to members of these classes in the spring quarter starting next month. Princeton’s squad consisted of 18 players, with four juniors taking a year off so they could return the next season.
Training could continue in places like Penn and Princeton. Perhaps public health conditions will improve rapidly as vaccinations increase, and universities can find neighboring schools within a 40 mile radius required to play a handful of games this spring.
