Bears’ Allen Robinson: Big Ten shouldn’t rush to return to football

On a day in which President Donald Trump tried to make the potential return of Big Ten games a literal political football, Bears receiver Allen Robinson said it shouldn’t happen. Robinson played three seasons for Penn State before being selected in Round 2 of the 2014 draft.

“It’s so tough, man …” he said. “I probably would say that I don’t think they should play, and I know that a lot of college players may hate hearing that.”

The biggest difference between the NFL and college football, he said, is the social aspect that comes with attending a university.

“You have gatherings at your student center, you have different study groups, you have things like that,” he said. “That’s what college is all about. So, thinking that they’re going to be able to put that to the side and still have kids on campus and living in the dorms and things like that, so trying to have football as well, you know, I think it would be very, very tough. I think that, health-wise, I don’t think it’s worth risking for all those guys.”

College programs have limited resources compared to the NFL — and, he said, they’re less able to control what happens around their players.

“That’s the thing,” he said. “College is not just about football. It’s about classes and other things like that. In the NFL here, it’s all football all day, and that’s the most important thing.”